3i harvests Quintiles investment
The UK’s oldest private equity firm yesterday reaped £29m after selling down part of its stake in biotech company Quintiles. 3i sold 2.9m shares in Quintiles, which floated last May. The sale will benefit the corporate entity of 3i – which will still own three per cent of the business – and a number of its buyout funds, which also own shares. 3i funds have reaped about $145m (£87m) from the sell off. They still own 6.4 per cent.