As you may know, DeepIntent entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by IQVIA during the second half of 2022. I’ve committed to keeping my team updated as we progress through this process and now I share this commitment with you, our clients, and partners.
Our decision to deepen DeepIntent’s strategic partnership with IQVIA was based principally on the answers to three important questions:
1) Will this acquisition better connect patients and healthcare providers with the information they need to make informed decisions about treatments and trials?
2) Will this acquisition accelerate our ability to innovate on behalf of our clients and partners?
3) Will this acquisition allow our team to broaden their experience, sharpen their skills, and ultimately advance their careers?
In search of an answer, my leadership team and I spent much time contemplating what was best for our company, our clients, our partners, and our people. We spent time personally getting to know the IQVIA leadership team, understanding their values and culture, and reflecting on seven rewarding years building our company and culture.
We ultimately found that both companies share a mutual mission to build products that improve and better support the way patients and healthcare providers make critical health decisions.
And, against a backdrop of changing patient and provider behaviors during and after the pandemic, change in our industry has only accelerated. Our conclusion was that giving DeepIntent a home within IQVIA would allow us to move quicker and provide both companies with a highly complementary set of skills and capabilities necessary for further innovation. Our clients and partners, our team, and – most importantly – patients and providers across the country would undoubtedly benefit from this merger.
Where We Are Today
You can then imagine my disappointment when I received news last Monday that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission decided to sue to block our merger. Both IQVIA and DeepIntent strongly disagree with, and will vigorously oppose this challenge. For context, the FTC has the remit to challenge mergers in court. That means, if they win their case, we must abandon the deal. If we prevail, we can continue to move forward in consummating the merger.
At this point, I know our clients and partners will have many questions, and I’ll answer the most important ones below. But first, I want to emphasize that our team and I will remain personally accessible throughout this process to answer any questions you may have – and, as always, remain only a call or email away.
Q: Will this process affect how I currently partner with DeepIntent?
No, there will be no changes to the way you work with DeepIntent or the high-quality service you have come to expect. Our day-to-day operations and teams will remain laser-focused on growing our partnerships with our clients and partners. In other words, we are and will continue to be the same DeepIntent you know and love.
Q: What are the possible outcomes of this action?
The court will decide whether the merger can proceed or not. If allowed, the deal will close and DeepIntent will join IQVIA. If not, DeepIntent will remain the independent company it is today.
Q: When will this process conclude?
We are seeking final approval to close by the end of the year.
Q: How does DeepIntent plan to partner with other companies, including IQVIA competitors, in the event of closing the deal?
Both IQVIA and DeepIntent have committed to remain agnostic to other DSPs and data providers, respectively. IQVIA will continue to make its data available throughout the industry, consistent with its long-standing “Data Everywhere” strategy.
Q: What will happen to DeepIntent should the acquisition go through?
All of our solutions will remain available to our clients and we look forward to adding more partners and capabilities to our platform. The DeepIntent team will remain in full-force and our leadership team is committed to staying with the company for several years beyond this transaction.
Q: How will this process and/or the acquisition change DeepIntent’s plans to invest into new products and services?
We are committed to continuing our strong track record of delivering solutions for clients and being a standard bearer for innovation in healthcare advertising – whether we are a part of IQVIA or not. The entire DeepIntent team remains singularly focused on our mission to improve patient outcomes.
Looking Forward
Our team at DeepIntent has so much to be proud of. As industry “outsiders” – the founding team came from healthcare, not ad tech – we have succeeded in building a category-changing solution in an industry dominated by well-known and well-capitalized companies such as Google, Amazon, and The Trade Desk. DeepIntent started with two 24-year-olds in a Midtown NYC WeWork, with nothing more than an idea and free nights and weekends. The solution we built has stood the test of time within a rigorous, punishing, and highly dynamic industry — complete with its fair share of headwinds and disruptions.
DeepIntent is, in many ways, a pioneer in healthcare advertising. We have delivered tremendous value for our industry and, most importantly, for the patients, healthcare providers, clients, and partners we serve.
I believe wholeheartedly that a deeper partnership with IQVIA will allow us to expand this value proposition and enable new, even more, exciting ways to partner. As you very well know, innovation in advertising technology is often measured in weeks and months, not years and decades.
A merger between IQVIA and DeepIntent will benefit our clients, our partners, and our entire industry by helping to promote innovation and vigorous competition to solve the next generation of client needs in the ever-changing healthcare industry.
As always, I am deeply grateful for the support of our clients and partners. I appreciate your patience and look forward to sharing updates as we proceed with this process.
-Chris Paquette, Founder and CEO of DeepIntent
