Boston-based boutique investment bank Leerink Swann & Co., known for underwriting health care-related offerings and producing health care-related research, is putting plans to expand into the buyout side of deals on the backburner, a source close to the firm told Buyouts.
CEO Jeff Leerink said in July 2007 that the firm, which he founded in 1995, planned to launch fundraising for a $500 million buyout fund in the fourth quarter of that year. That announcement came on the heels of a $35 million investment in Leerink Swann by LBO shop
The firm still plans to invest in buyouts, just not anytime soon, our source said, because of turbulent market conditions and a difficult fundraising environment. Our source had two meetings planned in New York this past week with potential partners, but said “quite frankly it’s just not a priority.” In the meantime, he said, Leerink Swann will concentrate on its health care-related advisory services.
Back in February, our source said the firm may form a strategic alliance in which Leerink Swann becomes a cornerstone limited partner or shareholder in a buyout or hedge fund business. Now the firm is looking more closely at partnering with a health care-focused hedge fund, as opposed to a buyout firm, our source said. The firm would join a number of other boutiques that have investment arms, including Thomas Weisel, Cowen and Evercore Partners.