In a move that rattled Wall Street and captivated the private equity world, Surgery Partners Inc. has slammed the brakes on a potential $3.3 billion take-private acquisition from Bain Capital, opting instead to double down on its future as a publicly traded powerhouse.
The Tennessee-based healthcare operator — known for its expansive network of short-stay surgical facilities — announced Tuesday it had officially ended buyout discussions with Bain Capital, saying the upside of remaining public far outweighs the buyout price tag.
A Strategic Crossroads
Surgery Partners had previously confirmed in January that Bain Capital Private Equity LP made a nonbinding bid to acquire the company at $25.75 per share, valuing the business near $3.3 billion. Notably, Bain and its affiliates already owned 39.3% of the company’s common stock at the time.
But after months of deliberation, an independent board committee, armed with outside legal and financial advisors, concluded that Surgery Partners’ long-term growth strategy as a public company delivered more value than the offer on the table.
“We are confident that remaining public gives us the best path to maximize performance and expand aggressively,” the company declared, hinting at upcoming plans to rev up its mergers and acquisitions pipeline and streamline operations.
An Investor Day is slated for later this year, where executives will lift the veil on what they call a “go-forward strategy” — a roadmap to unlock fresh value from its national portfolio and further cement its footprint in the $300 billion outpatient care space.
