KKR & Co is moving back into familiar territory with a bid for pharmaceutical group iNova.
The private equity giant has been an active investor in healthcare companies, including pioneering Australian cancer services provider GenesisCare, in which it held a majority stake until earlier this year.
This time around, KKR is running the numbers over Valeant Pharmaceutical's iNova, as revealed by Street Talk on Tuesday.
Sources said deliberations were under way over whether to proceed to the next stage of the Goldman Sachs-run auction.
As this column first reported, indicative offers were submitted last week and a string of strategic and private equity buyers are lining up to take a shot at the $1 billion-plus business.
Sources said The Carlyle Group is also preparing a final offer, however, Bain Capital has opted to swerve the sale process.
London-listed pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline is understood to be considering at least parts of the portfolio while Street Talk has noted that Pacific Equity Partners had been preparing an indicative bid.
Meanwhile, KKR's track record in the healthcare sector dates back 25 years. Its Asian II Fund includes Gland and Panasonic Healthcare, and of course, there was GenesisCare in the Asian I Fund.
iNova develops and markets over-the-counter and prescription medicines and houses brands including Difflam, Nyal, and Duromine.
Shares in its troubled US parent Valeant have been decimated over the past year, as a scandal about its drug pricing and accounting methods led to chief executive Michael Pearson leaving and an overhaul of the company's operations and strategy.
As Street Talk has reported, a key talking point among suitors preparing second-rounds bids is how to value iNova's bestselling product Duromine.
The high-margin weight loss drug is viewed as an attractive part of the iNova stable but does not have patent protection.
