Quintiles Transnational Agrees to Buy Envoy

Quintiles Transnational Corp., the largest provider of drug trials and market research for drug makers, agreed to buy health-claims processor Envoy Corp. for $1.4 billion in stock. The acquisition is the third for Quintiles this week and left some investors wondering how it would combine claims processing with its main research business. Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based Quintiles shares fell $10.31, or 18%, to close at $44.88 on Nasdaq. Envoy shares jumped $8 to close at t$50.25, also on Nasdaq. Under the deal, Envoy shareholders would receive 1.166 of Quintiles shares for each Envoy share. Nashville-based Envoy annually handles more than 1 billion health-care claims for doctors, hospitals and insurance companies.