Here are nine statistics to know on controlling interests and ownership in ASCs from HealthCare Appraisers:
HealthCare Appraisers surveyed 15 respondents including representatives of Ambulatory Surgery Centers of America, Birmingham, Ala.-based Surgical Care Affiliates and others on selling minority and controlling interests in surgery centers. Over 700 surgery centers were represented in the report.
Controlling, minority interests
1. Length of time it takes to sell minority interests
Less than three months: 27 percent
Three to six months: 33 percent
Six months to one year: 40 percent
2. Length of time it took to identify a buyer for a controlling interest
Three to six months: 33 percent
Six months to a year: 67 percent
3. Who was the buyer of a controlling interest
Single outside third party: 57 percent
Single existing owner: 7 percent
Multiple outside parties: 0 percent
Multiple existing owners: 0 percent
Hospital or health system: 36 percent
ASC ownership:
4. Eighty percent of respondents preferred between six and 15 physician-owners for a single-specialty ASC, while 60 percent preferred between 11 and 20 physician-owners for a multispecialty ASC.
5. Concerning equity in a center they're acquiring, 13 percent of respondents preferred less than 10 percent ownership; 40 percent preferred between 11 percent and 50 percent ownership; and 47 percent preferred between 51 percent and 75 percent ownership.
6. When buying into centers with a minority stake, 53 percent of respondents said they used a formula to come up with a price, while 47 percent said they used an independent appraisal to determine value.
7. When selling a minority stake to physician investors, 33 percent of respondents said it took on average three to six months to make a sale. Forty percent of respondents said it took an average of six months to a year to make a sale.
8. When selling a controlling interest in a center to physician investors, the average selling period was between six months to a year for 67 percent of respondents.
9. Respondents sold controlling interest in an ASC to a single outside third party 57 percent of the time and to a hospital/health system 36 percent of the time.