The Emmes Co. has seen big changes through the pandemic: a new leader, a new growth strategy, a new business structure — and, this summer, a new owner.
The Rockville clinical research organization and New York’s New Mountain Capital have struck a deal for New Mountain to assume ownership of the local company, the partners said Tuesday.
Under the agreement, New Mountain affiliates would acquire ownership interest from New York’s Behrman Capital — Emmes’ majority investor since March 2019 — as well as that of Emmes’ other investors.
The transaction is expected to close in July. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Emmes, which conducts research and clinical trials for public and private sector customers, has a client base comprising biopharmaceutical companies, government agencies, academic institutions, nonprofits and foundations. And it supports research for agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and National Institutes of Health.
The new ownership agreement, billed as a “growth partnership,” comes in a period of accelerated growth for Emmes, which has been expanding its footprint, headcount and revenues through a handful of acquisitions in less than two years. Going forward, Emmes President and CEO Christine Dingivan said in a statement, New Mountain’s focus on growth “will allow us to continue on this trajectory.”
The investment firm also brings experience in biopharma and tech — important, Dingivan said, as Emmes develops and expands a cloud-based software it acquired with Munich, Germany’s Institut Dr. Schauerte in December. That purchase followed a flurry of others including Plymouth, Massachusetts-based Casimir LLC in March 2022, the United Kingdom’s Orphan Reach in May 2021 and Prague’s Neox in December 2020.
Emmes now counts more than 1,300 employees, the company confirmed Tuesday, double its 650-person headcount as of fall 2020. As of March, the business expected to add 150 to 160 employees by the end of 2022, excluding any through potential acquisitions, Dingivan told us at the time. At that point, Emmes was actively recruiting for nearly 100 positions while targeting more than 10% in year-over-year revenue growth. The company reached $155 million in 2020 revenue.
Founded in 1977, Emmes kicked off its first-ever buying spree under Dingivan’s leadership. Soon after she assumed the top slot in September 2020, she split the business into two units — Emmes Biopharma and Emmes Public Sector — to better focus on those client groups. Dingivan was one of the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business of 2021.
