Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group is acquiring consulting firm Studer Group for $325 million in a deal planned to extend Huron's expertise in patient satisfaction and hospital-physician relationships.
Studer Group, founded by Quint Studer in 2000, is an outcomes-based healthcare performance improvement firm that includes 235 full-time employees and has worked with more than 750 hospitals. The firm has an 80 percent contract renewal rate and highly diversified client base.
Huron will purchase Studer Group for $325 million, paid through $323 million in cash and $2 million in Huron common stock. The transaction is expected to close in February. The combined organization will have more than 1,500 employees.
Huron's expertise focuses on financial challenges, healthcare reform implementation, technology and population health management, whereas Studer Group is focused on patient safety and quality, patient satisfaction, hospital-physician relationships and personnel issues.
The acquisition will also add proprietary, market-leading technology tools that strengthen Huron Healthcare's solutions for healthcare providers. This includes a patient call manager tool, which is designed to extend care outside the hospital through coordinated calls to high-risk groups that can help reduce preventable readmissions.
"The healthcare industry is facing immense pressure to enhance the quality of clinical outcomes and reduce the cost of providing patient care," said James H. Roth, CEO and president of Huron Consulting Group. "Studer Group is the market leader in driving cultural transformation to help hospitals improve performance. The combination of Huron and Studer Group will create the premier professional services firm focused on improving healthcare providers' clinical, operational and financial outcomes."
"Since the beginning as individuals in healthcare, then as the Studer Group, our focus has always been to make healthcare a better place for employees to work, physicians to practice medicine and patients to receive care," said Mr. Studer. "Becoming part of Huron, we will strengthen our foundation and together, Huron and Studer Group will have an even greater impact to improve quality and access while reducing cost."
Before founding the Studer Group, Mr. Studer was president of Chicago-based Holy Cross Hospital and president of Pensacola, Fla.-based Baptist Memorial Hospital; he helped both hospitals improve satisfaction, reduce employee turnover and turn a profit.
Scott Becker, JD, CPA, publisher of Becker's Healthcare, remarked on Mr. Studer's character. "Quint is a guy who came from little and has used brilliance and great personal skills to accomplish a great deal," he said. "He is an inspiration to many."