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 Money and Hellman & Friedman for $seventeen billion.

The organization, which offers electronic overall health file and medical doctor exercise tools, claimed the financial investment was expected to be concluded in the to start with quarter of 2022.  

Chair and CEO Bob Segert will go on in his place, claimed athenahealth in a press launch, as will the existing management staff.  

“Our staff, customers and associates are the source of our good results and inspiration as we make a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality and sustainable health care for all,” claimed Segert in a statement.  

WHY IT Matters

Athenahealth, which was obtained by personal fairness companies Veritas Money and Evergreen Coast Money in 2019 for $five.seven billion, says it at the moment associates with extra than a hundred and forty,000 ambulatory care suppliers in all 50 states and throughout extra than one hundred twenty specialties.  

In 2020, athenahealth launched a new EHR-embedded telehealth tool. According to Jessica Sweeney-Platt, vice president of analysis and editorial system, the organization has supplied 18.4 million virtual appointments above the earlier yr.  

“Currently marks a important milestone for athenahealth and our partnership with Veritas Money and Evergreen Coast Money, and we are thrilled to function with Hellman & Friedman and Bain Money to travel the following section of our growth journey,” claimed Segert.  

But the seller has also confronted hurdles.   

Right before that acquisition – which integrated a merger with Virence Well being, also owned by Veritas – the organization had confronted worries, which include an activist investor marketing campaign from Elliott Management the stepdown of founder and former CEO Jonathan Bush amid allegations of sexual harassment and domestic abuse and layoffs of 9% of the workforce.    

And this January, the U.S. Office of Justice declared that the organization agreed to fork out $18.twenty five million to solve Untrue Promises Act violation allegations. A spokesperson for the organization claimed it admitted no wrongdoing under the settlement.  

Even now, the firm’s new owners voiced optimism for its upcoming growth.  

“Offered our deep experience in application and health care, we are energized to function with Bob and the govt staff to rapidly scale the business and go on to innovate and develop alongside our most disruptive and progressive ambulatory care clientele to make the foundations of a multi-sided electronic care network in between client, payer and supplier,” Allen Thorpe, companion at Hellman & Friedman, claimed in a statement.  

THE Much larger Trend  

November has seen numerous huge funds moves in the overall health IT house, with application-as-a-assistance organization EverCommerce saying its new possession of EHR vendor DrChrono and the recently launched FemTec Well being obtaining natural beauty box organization Birchbox and social marketing system Liquid Grids.

Meanwhile, GE claimed it would spin off its health care division, GE Health care, in early 2023. Virence Well being, which merged with athenahealth, was when GE Healthcare’s benefit-based care arm.  

ON THE History  

“More than the class of our productive partnership with Bob and the management staff, athenahealth has pushed great growth and transformation, reinforcing its place as the premier health care IT organization supporting the biggest nationwide network of health care suppliers,” Ramzi Musallam, CEO and controlling companion of Veritas Money, claimed in a statement.  

“Next our choose-personal and combination with Virence in 2019, athenahealth sent unequalled benefit to its customers by appreciably increasing R&D financial investment ensuing in better excellent care, reduce prices throughout the health care ecosystem and over-all improved client results,” he claimed.

 

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