Averion, a contract research organization (CRO) specializing in oncology, cardiovascular diseases and medical devices, has filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it plans to go from a publicly traded company to one that is private.

The move will reduce the costs and administrative burdens of running a public company, Averion said, as well as allow shareholders with small holdings in the company to immediately realize the value of their investment.

Averion shareholders have approved a reverse stock split, which would give shareholders with less than 20,500 shares of common stock a cash payment of $0.01 per share. Following the transaction, the total number of shareholders will be less than 300, enabling the company to cease registration of its common stock under SEC rules.

“Averion is a successful provider of clinical research services in a very competitive business environment. The increasing cost and time associated with public company regulatory compliance required a significant amount of expense and management resources with no tangible benefit to our shareholders,” said board chairman James McGuire in a statement.