International healthcare services provider UDG Healthcare has agreed deals to buy two US based companies - Create NYC and SmartAnalyst - for a combined $82.4m.
New York-based Create NYC is an innovative healthcare creative communications agency, which offers sales and marketing materials for its international pharmaceutical clients.
Founded in 2009 by Natalie McDonald, who remains with the company as CEO, Create NYC employs 43 people in-house. The business will become part of Ashfield Communications.
UDG said the deal is in line with Ashfield's strategy "to expand into areas of differentiated but aligned adjacencies to its core scientific communication capabilities".
SmartAnalyst is a US-based strategic consulting and analytics business focused on the pharmaceutical and biotech sector.
It provides strategic consulting services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies to support disease, asset, and portfolio level decisions.
The company was founded in 2001 and has 135 employees based across operations in New York, London and Gurgaon in India.
UDG said the deal is in line its strategy to expand its advisory service proposition for its healthcare clients and follows the acquisitions of STEM in October 2016 and Vynamic in July 2017.
Brendan McAtamney, CEO of UDG Healthcare, said that both transactions meet all of UDG's acquisition criteria.
"They are a good strategic and cultural fit, meet our target financial hurdle rates, and involves an expansion of our current capabilities," he added.
