MedAssets has agreed to be acquired by Pamplona Capital Management, a private equity fund manager, for $2.7 billion in cash.
Here are 10 things to know about the deal.
A breakdown of the agreement
1. Under the definitive agreement, Pamplona will acquire MedAssets for $31.35 per share in cash. The price represents a premium of more than 44 percent to the 30-day, volume-weighted average price of MedAssets shares.
2. MedAssets, which offers cost and clinical resource management and data and analytics tools to help provider organizations run more efficiently, had a number of offers on the table before deciding to enter into a deal with Pamplona, according to MedAssets Chairman and CEO R. Halsey Wise.
"Over the last year, our progress captured the attention of outside parties, and we received a number of unsolicited inquiries expressing interest in acquiring MedAssets," he said in a statement. "Our board of directors and executive leadership team conducted a thorough review of strategic alternatives and, after careful consideration, we determined an acquisition by Pamplona is the best course of action for our shareholders, customers and employees."
3. Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., are acting as MedAssets' financial advisors, and Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is acting as the company's legal advisor in the transaction. The Wilkie deal team was led by partner Steven Gartner and included partners Morgan Elwyn and Jeffrey Korn.
4. Morgan Stanley and Barclays are serving as Pamplona's financial advisors, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as its legal advisor.
The next steps
5. Pamplona partner Jeremy Gelber, MD, expressed excitement about the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. "As a next step to our strategy, we plan to combine the MedAssets Revenue Cycle Management segment with our Precyse business to create a leading, end-to-end revenue cycle technology and services business," he said.
6. Following its acquisition of MedAssets, Pamplona will sell the MedAssets Spend and Clinical Resource Management segment to VHA-UHC Alliance, which was formed earlier this year when Irving, Texas-based VHA and Chicago-based University HealthSystem Consortium combined into a single organization.
7. Regarding the deal, VHA-UHC Alliance President and CEO Curt Nonomaque said, "By uniting VHA-UHC Alliance's expertise with the MedAssets SCM segment's proven strengths, this acquisition advances our mission to connect providers with the knowledge, solutions and expertise that accelerate performance."
A 'bittersweet' deal
8. Chuck Lauer, former publisher of Modern Healthcare, who serves on the senior advisory board for MedAssets, describes the deal as "bittersweet." He's delighted by the deal, but he also feels a little melancholy because he's going to miss working with the "exceptional bunch of people" at MedAssets.
9. Mr. Lauer has high regard for MedAssets' leader. "Halsey Wise, other board members and executive staff have handled this deal in the most professional manner," says Mr. Lauer.
10. Mr. Wise and all other top MedAssets executives "will be in a good position" after the deal closes, says Mr. Lauer. "There has been no discussion of executives being terminated," he says.
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