Baring PE Asia, Onex To Raise $745m In Secondary Offering Of Clarivate Analytics

Canadian private equity firm Onex Corporation and Hong Kong-headquartered Baring Private Equity Asia aim to raise approximately $745 million by selling 43.2 million ordinary shares of Clarivate Analytics plc, the former intellectual property and science business of Thomson Reuters.

Onex and Baring announced the secondary offering of the NYSE-listed Clarivate Analytics at $17.25 per share, giving underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 6.48 million additional ordinary shares from the group.

At the offering price and before exercising of the underwriters’ option, Onex will get about $203 million as a limited partner in Onex Partner IV and as a co-investor. The transaction will trim its holding in Clarivate to 134.6 million ordinary shares or 44 per cent, but it will continue to be the company’s largest shareholder.

The offering is expected to close on 9 December 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.

Onex and Baring co-led the acquisition of Clarivate Analytics from Thomson Reuters in 2016 for $3.55 billion. The two PE firms made an equity investment of $1.6 billion, with $1.2 billion coming from Onex’s flagship fund, Onex Partners IV. A number of limited partners also joined the transaction as co-investors.

In January this year, Onex and Baring agreed to publicly list Clarivate Analytics on the NYSE, giving the firm an enterprise value of approximately $4.2 billion.

Clarivate Analytics owns and operates a collection of leading subscription-based businesses focused on scientific and academic research, patent analytics and regulatory standards, pharmaceutical and biotech intelligence, trademark protection, domain brand protection, and intellectual property management.

The company operates several brands, including Web of Science, Cortellis, Thomson Innovation, Derwent World Patents Index, Thomson CompuMark, MarkMonitor, Techstreet, and Thomson IP Manager.

In September, Onex and Baring announced the sale of 34.5 million ordinary shares of Clarivate at an offering price of $16 per share. The transaction raised gross proceeds of approximately $552 million and trimmed the group’s shareholding to 60 per cent.