Fresenius Medical Care, a division of Bad Homburg, Germany-based Fresenius SE, sold its majority share April 21 in Sound Inpatient Physician Holdings, a Tacoma, Wash.-based acute care services organization, for $2.15 billion. Fresenius divested its shares to an investment consortium led by Summit Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston.
Fresenius has had a controlling interest in Sound since 2014, when it invested in the company alongside St. Louis-based Ascension and San Francisco-based Dignity Health. It invested in the physician organization to learn more about value-based care.
"In the previous years we have gained insight and successfully applied the knowledge on efficient patient coordination and on value-based programs in our unit called Fresenius Health Partners where we run the [end-stage renal disease seamless care organizations], our own Medicare Advantage plan and various sub-capitated arrangements. This was an important milestone in the execution of our care coordination strategy," Fresenius Medical Care CEO Rice Powell said in a press release. "As we are now very well positioned in the U.S. to ensure high quality outcomes for our dialysis patients in a healthcare system that is moving towards value-based care, we are enabled to divest Sound and release the invested capital for further focused growth investments to add value for our shareholders."
Fresenius said the divestiture will "sharpen its U.S. care coordination profile." The deal is expected to close late this year and is subject to regulatory approvals.
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