Healthcare organization leaders are expressing some initial skepticism about the merger of athenahealth with Virence Health Technologies, as a result of Veritas Capital and Elliott Management’s recent acquisition of athenahealth.
Current customers of the two vendors say they are in “wait and see” mode following the merger of the two companies, however, the majority of non-customers say they do not plan to purchase health IT technology from the combined company, according to a new survey from Reaction Data, a market research firm focused on the healthcare and life sciences industries.
The Reaction Data survey gauges how patient care organization leaders are reacting to the acquisition of athenahealth by Veritas Capital and Elliott Management, and the subsequent merger with Virence/GE Healthcare. While mergers and acquisitions in healthcare are becoming the new normal, the merger of Virence/GE Healthcare and athenahealth is unique, the report states.
In July, Veritas Capital acquired GE Healthcare’s revenue cycle, ambulatory care, and workforce management product lines, and then several months later rebranded it as Virence Health Technologies. On November 12, private equity firm Veritas Capital and hedge fund Elliott Management announced the acquisition of athenahealth, the Watertown, Massachusetts-based electronic health record (EHR) and practice management vendor, for $5.7 billion,
Following the deal’s closing, Veritas and Evergreen Coast Capital, a subsidiary of Elliott Management, expect to combine athenahealth with Virence Health. The combined business is expected to be a leading, privately-held healthcare information technology company with an extensive national provider network of customers and world-class products and solutions to help them thrive in an increasingly complex environment, the companies said in a press release.
The deal concludes a six-month acquisition process and a tumultuous period for athenahealth and its leadership. Elliott Management, the sometimes-activist fund run by billionaire Paul Singer, has put pressure on athenahealth leadership to take the company private or explore a sale since the hedge fund acquired a 9-percent stake in the company in 2017.
For the survey, Reaction Data collected feedback from patient care organization leaders about how aware the market is about the M&A event and an analysis on how likely the newly combined company will attract, or repel, new business.
Of the respondents, 22 percent are practice administrators, 18 percent are CIOs, 12 percent are chief financial officers (CFOs) and the remaining respondents are chief medical officers, CEOs, physicians, chief nursing officers, medical directors and chiefs of staff. Thirty-two percent of respondents are athenahealth customers, 19 percent are Virence customers and 49 percent aren’t customers of either company.
While Veritas acquired several important product lines from GE Healthcare six months ago, less than half of respondents (44 percent) were aware of that M&A event. Conversely, the majority of respondents (60 percent) are aware that Veritas and Elliott Management are acquiring athenahealth and plan to merge it with Virence (GE Healthcare).
Looking at overall impact, 45 percent of respondents are neutral on the impact of the merger, while 26 percent expressed a positive opinion and 29 percent have a negative opinion on the merger. Half of respondents who are current customers (51 percent) say they are in “wait and see” mode when it comes to sticking around for the long haul, with the remaining respondents are equally split between leaving (25 percent) and staying (24 percent).
“Reassuring the customer base that integration pains will be minimized and that investment and support will continue will be key priorities for the new ownership team,” the report says.
The rest of the market (non-customers) is another story. As of right now, the majority (57 percent) state they are unlikely to consider Virence or athenahealth for future purchases. Thirty percent of non-customers are in “wait and see” mode.
“While, at present, this certainly isn't an optimistic result, if the new owners execute the integration at a high level, word will quickly get out that the new combined entity truly is greater than its individual parts and the pendulum will swing back in its favor,” the report says.
The report authors also note that skepticism among healthcare organizations is expected among healthcare M&A deals. “Enough of these events in healthcare have gone south that it's perfectly reasonable for customers, and the market alike, to be professionally skeptical about its future. However, it should be noted, that these are two sizable companies brought together by two world-class private equity firms so it is entirely possible that this new company will emerge as a truly formidable competitor to industry titans Cerner and Epic,” the report authors wrote.
