Blackstone Said to Near About $5 Billion Deal for Advarra

Private equity firm Blackstone Inc. is nearing a deal to buy Advarra Inc. from Genstar Capital in a transaction that would value the drug-research services firm at about $5 billion, according to a people with knowledge of the matter.

A deal could be announced in the coming days, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. No final decision has been made and talks could still fall through, they added.

Representatives for Blackstone, Genstar and Advarra declined to comment.

Genstar acquired a majority stake in Columbia, Maryland-based Advarra from Linden Capital Partners in 2019. ...