Consolidation continues in the urgent care services sector, as consumers and healthcare provider organizations look for lower-cost services outside hospital walls. One of the largest deals in this area in 2018 is FastMed Urgent Care‘s acquisition of NextCare Holdings Inc., a portfolio company of Alcentra Capital Corp. since 2016.
FastMed, the business name for Urgent Care Holdings of America, LLC, is backed by Abry Partners and BlueMountain Capital Management. The company owns and operates 110 clinics in Arizona, North Carolina and Texas.
NextCare operates 141 facilities in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.
The combined company will be one of the largest urgent care providers in the country, with 251 clinics in 10 states, although not the largest. The Urgent Care Association reported there were more than 7,600 clinics in 2017, with 400 to 500 added every year since 2014.
This deal follows the February 2018 merger of Concentra Group Holdings, LLC with U.S. HealthWorks, a subsidiary of Dignity Health Holdings Company. Concentra was formed through a joint venture between Select Medical Corporation (NYSE: SEM), Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and other minority shareholders including Cressey & Company. It operates a portfolio of medical centers and worksite clinics.
U.S. HealthWorks operates both urgent care clinics and occupational health clinics. The combined company had more than 700 medical centers and employer worksite clinics in 44 states.
