Physician Growth Partners (PGP), a sell-side healthcare investment banking firm dedicated to representing independent physician practices in transactions with private equity, announced it advised on a new Women’s Health platform transaction.
Webster Equity Partners recently formed Nova Women’s Health Partners through its simultaneous acquisition and merger of WomanCare and Women’s HealthFirst alongside Georgia-based Midtown OB/GYN.
Women’s HealthFirst is an OB/GYN practice with five locations in Illinois. There are 10 physicians on staff. WomanCare is a 17-physician OB/GYN practice that is based in four locations in Illinois.
Founded in 2003, Webster Equity Partners is a private equity firm that invests in the branded consumer and healthcare services industries and provides equity financing, expertise and a broad contact network for management buyouts and growth capital.
We spoke with Ezra Simons, Co-Founder & Partner at PGP, who was able to provide additional information regarding the deal.
Q: How did PGP get involved in this transaction? How long has this transaction been in the works for?
A: We had been working on it for about 18 months. It was more complicated bringing two groups together and finding the right partner who understood the why / what / how aspects of the partnership. Like most of our transactions, we were referred by a former client.
Q: Since Webster is merging the two companies to start a new platform, what made them stand out as a potential merger?
A: Webster’s women’s health group, Nova, got started in October with a group in the southeast. Our groups in Chicago were founding groups alongside the southeast group. Webster has a strong track record working with doctors to build platforms that provide value to the communities, payors, providers and patients. That was attractive to our clients in Chicago who feel like they can deliver a stronger value proposition to the market, together. At the same time, Webster understood the importance of aligning with the junior providers in both groups as well as the administrative teams which was very important to make sure they were considered in the partnership.
Q: How did this transaction align with Webster’s acquisition strategy?
A: Webster is focused on partnering with great groups of physicians across the career spectrum. They were also focused on partnering with groups that have strong clinical models, excellent reputations and great leadership. The shareholders and physicians in both Chicago practices checked a lot of those boxes.
Q: Were there any specific challenges that arose during the acquisition process? And how were they resolved?
A: The biggest aspect was making sure that the non-shareholders were excited about this and were considered strongly in connection with this opportunity. That took considerable work to ensure they were treated equitably. Several became partners at closing.
Q: According to our data, there were 17 OB/GYN deals announced in 2024 and 26 in 2023. Do you anticipate high or low deal volume in 2025? Why?
A: We expect 2025 to be a strong year. Many private equity-backed businesses (within healthcare and beyond) were finding their footing during 2023/2024 and focusing on driving growth internally, given some of the broader credit hurdles. Most folks expect things to open during 2025. We’re excited to potentially see some of the larger players transact amongst sponsors, across verticals, providing further runway within PPM.
Q: How does this merger fit into trends that you’ve seen in the fertility and OB/GYN M&A markets?
A: We continue to see strong interest in women’s health verticals, as well as a continued interest in fertility as access continues to open there from the payor side. Obviously, there are some question marks about how the incoming administration’s policy might shape some of that, but IVF / fertility seems to be outside of the intended purview to a degree. Webster’s entrance into women’s health will add another relevant option for OB/GYN groups nationally considering whether a partnership makes sense for them. At the end of the day, we want independent groups to have lots of options, whether that means pursuing a partnership or remaining independent. OB is very tough to do well, for a long time, without scale (think of having five people splitting a call pool over 15 years), so we’re excited for more options for those groups to get a level of support.
Q: What range are you currently seeing for valuations and how does that compare to the start of 2024?
A: There is a click down in average valuation 2023-current vs <2023. And there is no question that we are seeing investors being much more selective, structured and conservative when it comes to what fits their “buy box.” However, we still are seeing strong, multiple bids, processes for strong assets.
According to data captured in the LevinPro HC database, there have been two OB/GYN transactions announced since the start of 2025. Like Simons, we are hopeful that the OB/GYN and fertility spaces will show strong numbers for the coming months.
For more stories with PGP’s perspective on dealmaking, explore the stories below:
- Behind the Deal: PGP Advises Contour Dermatology On Acquisition
- Behind the Deal: PGP Advises on Dermatology Transaction
- Behind the Deal: PGP Advises On CVAUSA Acquisition
- Behind the Deal: PGP Advises on Urology Transaction
- The Benefits and Pitfalls of Selling Physician Practices
- Interview with Robert Aprill, Physician Growth Partners
- Interview with John Tiedmann, Physician Growth Partners
- Why Invest in the Nephrology Market
- Why Invest in the ENT Market
