The MACRA Effect Keeps Building

by | Mar 23, 2017 2:55 pm | Managed Care, Physician Medical Groups, Private Equity

Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asked for comments and then rolled out the final rules on the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Many industry observers predicted the rules would drive the majority of independent physician practices “right into the arms” of a local hospital, health system or other entity. Those predictions appear to be true. As of mid-March 2017, 46 acquisitions of physician practices have been announced, a 105% increase from the same period a year ago. Only one of the deals disclosed a price,  Optum’s (NYSE: UNH) $3.3 billion acquisition of Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. (NASDAQ:... Read More »
Air Methods Corp. Flies to American Securities

Air Methods Corp. Flies to American Securities

by | Mar 17, 2017 4:44 pm | Hospitals, Other Services, Private Equity

Air Methods Corporation (NASDAQ: AIRM), a global air medical transportation company, has been on the acquisition trail since the late 1990s, announcing 12 deals targeting smaller air ambulance operators. Now it’s a takeover target itself, thanks to activist shareholder Voce Capital Management LLC. Voce Capital, and its managing director J. Daniel Plants, had been calling for Air Methods management to put the company on the block as far back as 2015. In February 2017, the investment firm launched a fight for four board seats and publicly criticized AIRM’s financial returns and “a multi-year syndrome of operational, strategic and governance failures.” Air Methods... Read More »

PE Firms Flock to Dermatology Deals

by | Mar 16, 2017 6:57 pm | Physician Medical Groups, Private Equity

Dermatology practices remain high on the list of healthcare sectors for private equity investors. Through mid-March, 2017, 12 deals targeting these practices have been announced by eight acquirers. All those acquirers are either private equity firms, or portfolio companies. Thanks to the private nature of these transactions, no financial terms have been publicly disclosed. Of the 17 dermatology deals announced in 2016, six acquirers were private equity firms and five were portfolio companies. Some big deals (even without disclosing prices) announced last year include Harvest Partners’ acquisition of Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery from Audax Group, in May... Read More »
Strategic vs. Financial Healthcare Buyers in 2016

Strategic vs. Financial Healthcare Buyers in 2016

by | Mar 2, 2017 3:56 pm | Behavioral Health Care, Home Health & Hospice, Hospitals, Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis, Long-Term Care, Managed Care, Other Services, Physician Medical Groups, Private Equity, Rehabilitation

Every spring, we publish myraid statistics on the healthcare services deals announced the year before, in the form of The Health Care Services Acquisition Report. This year’s 23rd edition, which will available in late March, has this examination of what financial buyers targeted in 2016. Strategic buyers continued to dominate the health care services M&A market in 2016, as they have in the past. Their 683 deals made up 73% of the year’s deal volume. The $45.7 billion spent accounted for 63% of the combined total of $72 billion. A total of 259 deals, or 27% of the services deal volume in 2016, were carried out by financial buyers, such as private equity firms and real estate... Read More »

Sterling Partners Expands into Ophthalmology

by | Feb 27, 2017 9:37 pm | Physician Medical Groups, Private Equity

Sterling Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, added the first ophthalmology practice to its healthcare services portfolio with the acquisition of Grand Rapids Ophthalmology. GRO is the first eye care provider to join Great Lakes Management Services Organization, a practice management services organization formed by Sterling to support GRO’s local expansion and larger-scale growth. GRO offers a full suite of eye care services including optometry, retail optical, oculoplastics, cataract surgery and retinal sub-specialties. It employs 11 ophthalmologists and 18 optometrists in 11 locations. Sterling Partners has been busy building up platforms in other areas of healthcare services,... Read More »

What’s Next for Managed Care?

by | Feb 24, 2017 8:38 pm | Managed Care, Physician Medical Groups, Private Equity

The managed care mega-deals of 2015 have blown up. Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Humana (NYSE: HUM) amicably terminated their $37 billion merger, following a federal judge’s order in January to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The $1 billion termination fee was in the works. A different federal judge blocked Anthem (NYSE: ANTM) and Cigna’s (NYSE: CI) $54.2 billion merger on similar grounds. Things turned ugly quickly, as Cigna declared the deal dead and sued Anthem for the $1.85 billion termination fee, and another $13 billion in damages on behalf of its shareholders. Anthem says it will go ahead with the merger. What do the Big Five health insurers do now that they’re... Read More »