BlackArch Partners announced that it advised on the sale of X-Chem, Inc., from an affiliate of The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman, to GHO Capital Partners LLP (GHO).

X-Chem is an industry-leading provider of DNA-Encoded Library (DEL)-based discovery services. From its Waltham, US headquarters and leveraging a proprietary DEL platform with libraries containing over 200 billion small molecules, X-Chem provides drug discovery services to biopharma partners. X-Chem has licensed over seventy research programs, comprising hundreds of novel chemical entities, to companies throughout the US, Europe and Japan. DEL technology, allowing customers to screen billions of compounds simultaneously against a single biological target, is an innovative and high growth segment of the market as pharmaceutical companies look for access to cutting edge scientific expertise to support an increasingly challenging drug discovery process.

X-Chem will benefit from GHO’s expertise, global network and international resources to accelerate growth. With continued investment and support from GHO, X-Chem will leverage its best-in-class technology to expand its capabilities and grow internationally.

Matt Clark, CEO of X-Chem, commented: “BlackArch’s combination of a deep understanding of pharmaceutical discovery and development, a global buyer perspective and exceptional M&A execution was critical to positioning our business to the marketplace and running an efficient sale process. BlackArch worked tirelessly to execute and close this transaction while identifying an ideal partner we are excited to work with.”

Judd Hartman, former Chairman of the X-Chem Board, commented: “We engaged BlackArch given their extensive pharmaceutical services expertise and middle market M&A focus. Their unique knowledge of the sector and dedicated efforts resulted in an exceptional outcome to the sale process while successfully navigating through a dynamic M&A market.”

BlackArch was retained by X-Chem to serve as its exclusive financial advisor.  The transaction continues BlackArch’s strong presence in the pharmaceutical outsourcing and healthcare sectors and is representative of the firm’s focus on providing dedicated M&A advisory services to market-leading businesses.