Portfolio
Nature of Business
Marken is one of the fastest-growing specialised logistics and support services companies, supporting the biopharmaceutical industry. Its services include the export of trial medication, vaccines and clinical trial material, cold-chain management, protocol support and regulatory advice, investigator liaison and biological sample movement on a global basis.
Investment Overview
3i supported the management buyout of Marken in 2006. The company saw us as a preferred partner due to our sector experience, our due diligence and our speed of execution.
We worked in close alignment with the management team on an ambitious growth strategy, achieving a growth rate of over 30% during our holding period, while increasing the company’s operating margin through a combination of revenue growth and cost savings.
We further supported the business by both streamlining and strengthening the management team, introducing an expert in the sector, Mel Porter, to the Board as Non-Executive Director.
We leveraged our global network to support organic growth while actively seeking bolt-on acquisitions. In addition we supported Marken in establishing an operation in China, through our healthcare services network and we also helped to capture a greater share of the US market and identified US-based pharmaceutical companies as potential acquisition targets.
We sold our interest in the company through a secondary buyout in 2007.
