The Healthcare Owner’s Guide to Selling: FAQ

Why should a healthcare group hire an investment bank when exploring a sale?

If you are considering the sale of your healthcare business or practice, hiring an experienced investment bank is essential. The right investment banker or transaction advisor will help you evaluate all available options and determine which path is best suited for your organization.

As part of this process, it is important to assess which buyer or partner will allow you to retain the desired level of control, provide the resources you are seeking, and demonstrate a proven track record of supporting healthcare organizations like yours.

Additionally, an experienced advisor can help position your financials to maximize EBITDA, utilize proven negotiation tactics, and create competition through a carefully crafted process to maximize value with respect to both economic and non-economic terms.

These are critical considerations, as a transaction will not only impact shareholders, but also the employees, providers, and broader organization.

You have one opportunity to get this right. It is important to approach the process thoughtfully and with the right healthcare investment banking team in place as your trusted advisor.

Who is Physician Growth Partners (PGP), and what types of clients does PGP work with?

PGP is a nationally recognized investment bank exclusively focused on healthcare. With over 90 complete transactions, PGP advises healthcare services organizations nationwide across five core sectors: Physician Services, Outpatient & Ambulatory Care, Dental Services, Post-Acute & Behavioral Health, and Healthcare Support & Outsourced Services. Our core focus is advising healthcare groups pursuing a merger, acquisition, recapitalization, or full transaction sale. We’ve successfully represented groups ranging from $10 million to over $150 million in revenue, with completed transactions spanning nearly every state in the country.

 

Why should I choose PGP over other investment banking firms?

PGP is deeply committed to preserving its reputation as the premier boutique healthcare investment bank. This commitment has been a key driver of our continued success and the trust our clients place in us. Our comprehensive and differentiated experience, bespoke approach, senior-level involvement, and proven track record have consistently distinguished PGP as the investment bank of choice among our peers.

  • Comprehensive & Differentiated Experience: PGP is a boutique investment bank focused exclusively on healthcare. Over the past eight years, the firm has completed more than 90 transactions across the healthcare services landscape, making PGP one of the most active middle-market investment banks in the healthcare sector. Our active presence provides us with proprietary insights, enabling us to better position our clients with private equity buyers and other potential partners.
  • Bespoke Approach: PGP’s marketing approach is centered on guiding clients through a process that goes beyond economics and deal terms. We focus on identifying partners that are the right cultural fit for each organization, helping ensure clients not only achieve the best transaction outcome, but also remain satisfied with the partnership years after closing.
  • Senior Level Involvement: PGP’s Managing Partners, Partners, and Managing Directors are actively involved in every stage of each healthcare M&A transaction on a day-to-day basis, not just at the relationship level. Unlike firms that hand off deals to junior staff, our senior leadership serves as the first point of contact with buyers, clients, and work directly on your behalf throughout the process.
  • Proven Track Record: PGP has a proven track record of successfully guiding complex transactions through consummation. Over the years, PGP has closed more than 90 transactions and achieved an approximate 90% close rate for transactions that signed a letter of intent. PGP has consistently maximized value for our clients by securing highly favorable deal terms. On average, PGP has achieved valuations more than 30% higher than the unsolicited offers our clients had previously received, allowing our services to more than pay for themselves. 

 

How does the process work if I want to explore a transaction?

Before starting, it’s important to educate yourself and determine whether there’s enough alignment within your organization to explore a transaction. Most investment banks, including PGP, will provide an educational session ahead of any commitment, helping you understand how a valuation is determined, how the process works, and what strategic options are available to you. Once you are committed to moving forward in a process, it typically takes 6-8 months to consummate a transaction.

Preparation Phase: 6–8 Weeks

The preparation phase gives PGP the time needed to complete its qualitative and quantitative due diligence and assemble the core materials that drive a successful process. During this stage, we prepare the non-disclosure agreements, the teaser, and the full marketing materials, and the financial model, while also finalizing the approved buyers list and aligning with you on overall strategy. This groundwork ensures that when we go to market, your practice is positioned accurately and in a compelling way to the right audience.

Marketing Phase: 8–12 Weeks

Once materials are finalized, we begin approaching the approved buyer list with the teaser and NDA. Any party that signs the NDA then receives the full marketing materials, and within a few weeks of distributing the marketing packet, we ask interested groups to submit initial offers.

After initial offers are in, we work with you to identify the most attractive groups to advance to the next stage, culling the field in the process so you are only spending valuable time with worthy parties. From there, we coordinate management meetings, diligence sessions, and other key due diligence activities, progressively narrowing the field from those down to a final two, and ultimately to a single preferred buyer.

Throughout this stage, we continue negotiating with all groups in parallel to create competitive tension and secure the best possible transaction terms on your behalf. Once a preferred party is selected, we move into the exclusivity phase.

Exclusivity Phase: 10–12 Weeks

In the final phase, we work exclusively with the selected party to help them complete all third-party diligence, including accounting, legal, tax, compliance/coding, benefits, and insurance review. Working alongside attorneys, we memorialize everything negotiated in the LOI into the definitive documents including the purchase agreement, employment agreement, and operating agreement.

At the same time, we partner closely with you and the buyer on transaction strategy, integration planning, and the other considerations that lay the foundation for a smooth, successful partnership. Importantly, we also continue conducting diligence on the buyer in parallel with their review of your business, so you have a clear understanding of their track record, capabilities, and fit as a long-term partner. Once each of these steps is complete, you’ll be positioned to confidently consummate the transaction.

 

How long does a typical transaction take?

Most healthcare M&A processes take between six and eight months from kickoff to close, depending on the complexity of the deal and current market dynamics. Our team manages the entire timeline and process so you can stay focused on running your practice or business. That said, the timeline is flexible and it can be extended if you’d like additional time to make the right decision for your group.

 

How can I get started with PGP?

Simply reach out to our team through the Speak to a Senior Banker button below, email us at [email protected] or call at (312) 796-6467. We’ll schedule a confidential introductory conversation to learn more about your goals and discuss whether PGP is the right fit to support you as you explore your next chapter.


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