ICON, a global provider of outsourced drug and device development and commercialisation services, agreed to acquire PRA Health Sciences, a contract research organization, for $12bn. Upon completion of the transaction, PRA shareholders will own approximately 34% of the shares of the combined company and ICON shareholders will own approximately 66%. “Both ICON and PRA have track records of robust growth and performance and we are ready to build on this unrivalled position of strength, utilising the outstanding talent in both organisations. With broader and deeper operational scale combined with innovative technology and real world data solutions, we will enable all customers to reduce their development time and cost. We will be the leading provider of de-centralised and hybrid trial solutions through the integration of our data capabilities, health platforms and Accellacare site network. The transaction will be highly accretive from full year 1 post-close,” Steve Cutler, ICON CEO.