Premier, a digital transformation company that works with thousands of U.S. hospitals and health systems and hundreds of thousands of providers and organizations, has agreed to go private through a $2.6 billion deal with investment firm Patient Square Capital.
The company said Monday it plans to accelerate service innovation for the benefit of its customers.
WHY IT MATTERS
Premier, which went public in 2013, indicated that a private transaction would best provide access to additional capital. The sale, which came after a strategic review, will provide Premier with enhanced financial flexibility to accelerate tech investments.
Going private now will help Premier continue to build on its progress and "continue delivering real results for our members," said Michael Alkire, the company's president and CEO, in a statement.
With the unanimous approval of its board, the deal was approved after considering alternatives, added Richard Statuto, Premier's board chair. In addition to delivering "immediate and certain value" to stockholders, a private sale would assure it can accelerate services "during this critical time in healthcare," he said.
Under the terms of the agreement, stockholders will receive $28.25 in cash per share, representing a 23.8% premium to Premier’s 60-day volume-weighted average price as of Sept. 5.
"Our team sees tremendous opportunity for Premier to continue growing its differentiated portfolio in supply chain services, data and technology offerings and consulting solutions that deliver value to patients," said Neel Varshney, a Patient Square founding partner.
THE LARGER TREND
In January, at the tail end of the Biden administration, Premier had supported the U.S. Health and Human Services AI Strategic Plan – a framework to spur innovation, enable more trustworthy model development, promote access and foster artificial intelligence-empowered healthcare workforces.
While that plan was later removed from the department's website by the Trump administration, which in July issued its own AI Action Plan to address slow-to-adopt sectors like healthcare, Premier had said the proposals within the department's plan directly aligned with its own recommendations for the safe use of AI to boost the healthcare workforce, advance health equity and promote value-based care.
"Premier has long championed a responsible [AI] regulatory framework for healthcare that promotes transparency and advances patient safety while supporting innovation," said Soumi Saha, the group's senior VP of government affairs, at the time, noting AI’s "power to revolutionize healthcare supply chain resilience, as Premier has witnessed firsthand the benefits of AI-driven insights in mitigating disruptions and shortages."
ON THE RECORD
"As the healthcare landscape continues to rapidly evolve, transitioning to private ownership will once again enhance the company’s financial flexibility and provide additional resources to accelerate the advancement and tech-enablement of our product portfolio, capitalize on emerging opportunities and continue pushing the envelope of innovation," said Alkire in a statement.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
