Athenahealth bought by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital

Cloud computing seller athenahealth declared Monday that it would be jointly obtained by affiliate marketers of Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman for $seventeen billion.

The organization, which features electronic overall health document and medical doctor follow tools, reported the expense was predicted to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.  

Chair and CEO Bob Segert will continue in his place, reported athenahealth in a press release, as will the latest administration crew.  

“Our staff members, customers and companions are the resource of our achievement and inspiration as we make a flourishing ecosystem that delivers obtainable, significant-quality and sustainable health care for all,” reported Segert in a assertion.  

WHY IT Matters

Athenahealth, which was obtained by personal fairness companies Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coastline Capital in 2019 for $5.7 billion, says it at present companions with much more than a hundred and forty,000 ambulatory care providers in all fifty states and throughout much more than one hundred twenty specialties.  

In 2020, athenahealth launched a new EHR-embedded telehealth device. According to Jessica Sweeney-Platt, vice president of analysis and editorial tactic, the organization has offered 18.four million digital appointments more than the previous 12 months.  

“These days marks a major milestone for athenahealth and our partnership with Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coastline Capital, and we are thrilled to do the job with Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital to drive the future stage of our growth journey,” reported Segert.  

But the seller has also faced hurdles.   

Right before that acquisition – which provided a merger with Virence Health, also owned by Veritas – the organization experienced confronted issues, together with an activist investor marketing campaign from Elliott Administration the stepdown of founder and former CEO Jonathan Bush amid allegations of sexual harassment and domestic abuse and layoffs of nine% of the workforce.    

And this January, the U.S. Office of Justice declared that the organization agreed to fork out $18.25 million to solve Fake Statements Act violation allegations. A spokesperson for the organization reported it admitted no wrongdoing below the settlement.  

Nevertheless, the firm’s new proprietors voiced optimism for its future growth.  

“Offered our deep expertise in software program and health care, we are thrilled to do the job with Bob and the government crew to quickly scale the small business and continue to innovate and increase alongside our most disruptive and modern ambulatory care clientele to construct the foundations of a multi-sided digital care network concerning affected person, payer and provider,” Allen Thorpe, lover at Hellman & Friedman, reported in a assertion.  

THE Larger sized Craze  

November has observed various massive dollars moves in the overall health IT room, with software program-as-a-assistance organization EverCommerce announcing its new possession of EHR vendor DrChrono and the newly launched FemTec Health attaining natural beauty box organization Birchbox and social marketing system Liquid Grids.

Meanwhile, GE reported it would spin off its health care division, GE Health care, in early 2023. Virence Health, which merged with athenahealth, was when GE Healthcare’s value-centered care arm.  

ON THE Record  

“Around the study course of our productive partnership with Bob and the administration crew, athenahealth has pushed large growth and transformation, reinforcing its place as the leading health care IT organization supporting the most significant nationwide network of health care providers,” Ramzi Musallam, CEO and managing lover of Veritas Capital, reported in a assertion.  

“Next our just take-personal and combination with Virence in 2019, athenahealth sent unmatched value to its clients by appreciably rising R&D expense resulting in larger high quality care, lower costs throughout the health care ecosystem and general enhanced affected person outcomes,” he reported.

 

Kat Jercich is senior editor of Health care IT Information.
Twitter: @kjercich
E mail: [email protected]
Health care IT Information is a HIMSS Media publication.