On Thursday, October 24, 2019, the ASC Mergers and Acquisitions panel took place at Becker’s ASC 26th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs. National Medical Billing Services CEO Nader Samii participated in the panel along with Matthew Searles, Partner, Merritt Healthcare Advisors and Melissa Szabad, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP.
• Big picture. The big picture still looks good since there is substantial interest in ASC mergers and acquisitions. For a long time, buyers were typically ASC management companies. Recently, we started seeing significant interest coming from private equity firms. Surgery center deals look very different when there is a private equity investor. Typically, the private equity firm does not actually own the center they manage the center for which they take a significant fee. Essentially, all the revenue is taken out through the management fee.
• What’s on the horizon? If your ASC is not integrated into the spectrum of care in the next 5-10 years, you are going to be left behind. You must look at what is coming so that you can position yourself for success. We are at an inflection point in which some of big procedures – ortho, cardio, spine – are moving into the ASC space. It is the growth profile and margin profile that interests potential buyers.
• Recommendations to maximize a sale. If you are considering selling, get your house in order. Due diligence items can kill deals. Address client issues be prepared to respond and have corrected or have a plan to correct issues that may come up.
This post was first published October 24, 2019 and was updated July 29, 2020.
