Driven by hospital sytem consolidation and changing legislation, many hospital-outsourced clinical services companies are looking to consolidate by finding well-positioned partners who can ensure their businesses will continue to thrive. NEA was no exception to this trend. When the anesthesia group in its hospital system was acquired by a large publicly-traded physician consolidator, NEA began to explore its own options—and hired us to determine if previous acquisition offers they had received accurately reflected the strength of their business. After reviewing their financials, we determined that an auction featuring multiple strategic bidders and rounds was the best decision for NEA.

To prepare for the auction, we developed tailored marketing materials that highlighted their strong relationship with Northside Hospitals and the impressive growth they had achieved. We also met with potential bidders at an industry conference to discuss NEA’s practice in more detail. Together, these two steps helped generate serious interest in NEA—and allowed us to narrow down the pool to ensure we could find the right buyer.

After five initial bids and two rounds, NEA was ultimately sold to Envision Healthcare at a final purchase price that was significantly higher than initial round offers. This transaction not only resulted in a positive outcome for NEA shareholders, but also ensured the company had a partner with the resources to support its 65 physician and advanced practice clinicians who care for 170,000 patients each year.