Bain Capital to retain 40% stake in $6bn Surgery Partners take-private
Bain Capital will keep its roughly 40% stake in Surgery Partners as US healthcare operator Bon Secours Mercy Health nears a take-private deal valuing the company at around $6bn.
US healthcare system Bon Secours Mercy Health is in advanced negotiations to acquire a majority stake in publicly listed surgical care provider Surgery Partners in a take-private transaction. The proposed deal values the company at an enterprise valuation of approximately $6bn, which includes a $3.5bn debt load. Under the terms being discussed, Bon Secours would acquire shares at roughly $20 per share.
Private equity firm Bain Capital, which has maintained a minority interest in Surgery Partners since 2017, is set to retain its roughly 40% stake rather than exiting the investment. The current transaction structure follows an earlier, unsuccessful effort by Bain Capital to acquire the remainder of Surgery Partners last year in a deal that would have valued the healthcare provider at approximately $6.7bn including debt.
Surgery Partners operates 176 surgical centres and hospitals spanning 30 US states, focusing primarily on outpatient procedures and related healthcare services. Heading into the proposed offer, the company held an equity valuation of around $2.1bn, driven by a share price drop of roughly 31% over the prior year.
For Bon Secours, which operates 47 hospitals across the US and Ireland and generated about $14bn in revenue last year, the transaction provides a major expansion into outpatient operations. The healthcare operator has been involved in several large-scale transactions, having previously retained a minority stake in healthcare payments software provider Ensemble after agreeing to sell a majority interest to Thoreau Group at an $11.75bn valuation.
The transaction highlights an ongoing wave of consolidation within the US healthcare services and outpatient sectors, paralleling deals such as Ascension’s $3.9bn acquisition of surgical care provider Amsurg. As health systems face changing operating dynamics, health networks are increasingly partnering with existing financial sponsors to expand beyond inpatient facilities into high-demand ambulatory and outpatient care platforms.