Matthew Searles is a partner with Merritt Healthcare, an ASC management and development firm that works with centers nationwide.
Mr. Searles will share his expertise as a speaker at the Becker's ASC 26th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, Oct. 24-26, 2019 in Chicago. To learn more and register, click here. For more information about exhibitor and sponsor opportunities, contact Maura Jodoin at mjodoin@beckershealthcare.com.
He has experience assisting in the sale of surgery centers and surgical hospitals, as well as working with health systems acquiring outpatient facilities. Here, he discusses the ASC transaction landscape.
Question: What are the top two to three trends you're seeing in ASC M&A today?
Matthew Searles: Consolidation of healthcare services and broad interest in accessing the entire continuum of care as a mechanism to accommodate value-based payment models.
Q: Where do you see the biggest potential for an increase in hospital acquisitions of ASCs?
MS: Any market where this has not occurred. Hospitals need to lower the cost of care to the communities they serve.
Q: Where will we see more transactions for national chains?
MS: National chains will continue to consolidate among themselves and execute transactions in markets where they see growth.
Q: How will M&A change over the next two to three years? What factors drive M&A in the ASC space?
MS: Outsized multiples for physician practices will come down to sustainable levels as large group practices, payers and hospitals take the lead in consolidation.
Q: What role will private equity play in M&A for ASCs and endoscopy centers in the future?
MS: Private equity simply sees an opportunity to consolidate a fragmented market with the end goal of selling to established operators, larger group practices (some PE backed) or hospital systems.