Industries: Healthcare

Healthcare Private Equity & Finance

Private equity firms are under ever-increasing pressure to demonstrate returns to investors. Investing in the healthcare and life science industry can provide these returns, but this highly regulated sector can pose pitfalls for the unwary. The lawyers in our healthcare private equity practice understand these competing forces, and work with our clients to ensure their investments are sound – from both a regulatory and a business perspective. In addition to representing equity sponsors, our practice regularly represents lenders (including both first lien and mezzanine lenders) in leveraged finance transactions.

The core areas of coverage for our healthcare private equity lawyers include:

• Hospitals and hospital ancillary services.
• Outpatient providers, including surgery center chains, dialysis center chains and urgent-care chains.
• Durable medical equipment suppliers and distributors.
• Manufacturers and distributors of medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
• Post-acute providers, including chains of long-term acute-care hospitals and skilled nursing and independent rehabilitation facilities.
• Pharmacies, including multistate pharmacy chains and providers.
• Home health.
• Clinical and diagnostic laboratories.
  

Services

We provide an integrated approach to the regulatory and transactional issues that arise in the context of lending and private equity sponsor transactions. In particular, we bring a deep understanding of the embedded regulatory matters, to provide a thorough due diligence analysis of a target company’s operations, identifying potential regulatory and legal risks and cash flow disruptions. Our analysis includes reviewing compliance with federal Medicare and Medicaid laws and regulations and state law correlates, and providing advice regarding the potential impact on the future value of the business model. In circumstances where areas of concern arise, we help our clients correct issues and suggest alternative deal structures as appropriate, enabling the deal to go forward while avoiding potential cash flow disruption or prolonged legal actions post closing.

Portfolio Company Services

The more than 65 lawyers on the firm’s healthcare team can ensure continuity by providing ongoing assistance with virtually any legal matters, including corporate and regulatory counseling, licensure, litigation, labor and employment issues, and financing.

Representative Matters

• Represented Bostwick Laboratories Inc., largest provider of urologic anatomic pathology laboratory services in the United States, in growth recapitalization with private equity firm Metalmark Capital.
• Represented LLR Partners, Inc. in its investment in United Seating & Mobility, a manufacturer of complex wheelchairs in St. Louis.
• Represented Summit Partners in conducting due diligence prior to its loan to Covenant Surgical Partners.
• Represented LLR Partners, Inc. in its equity investment in a growing Texas-based women’s health business. McGuireWoods assisted the client in negotiating deal terms, establishing a new corporate structure, navigating complex healthcare regulations, securing clinic and laboratory leases and employing C-level executives for the newly formed Vivere Health, LLC.
• Represented Water Street Healthcare Partners in its acquisition of Medical Specialties Distributors, LLC (MSD). MSD is the nation’s leading provider of infusion products, supplies, biomedical services and technology solutions to the home infusion therapy market. We advised on the healthcare regulatory aspects of the transaction.
• Represented Irving Place Capital in a recapitalization, in conjunction with senior management, of National Surgical Hospitals, an owner and operator of 14 surgical hospitals and seven ASCs.
• Represented Summit Park, a private investment firm focused on the lower middle market, in its leveraged buyout of Control Company, a designer, manufacturer and seller of equipment and scientific instruments for plants and laboratories in the industrial, biomedical, hospital, educational and governmental markets.
• Represented H.I.G Capital, through its portfolio company Surgery Partners, in their recent merger agreement with NovaMed, an operator of ambulatory surgery centers in partnership with physicians . The transaction was valued at approximately $214 million, including the assumption or repayment of approximately $105 million of indebtedness. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011.