UnityPoint Health Acquires Meriter Health Services

UnityPoint Health (“UPH”), a 15-hospital system based in Des Moines, IA, has acquired Meriter Health Services based in Madison, WI.  Meriter is a fully-integrated $775 million revenue system that includes an acute care hospital, managed care plan, and large physician group.  Meriter is UPH’s first hospital in Wisconsin.  The partnership represents the continuation of UPH’s significant strategy to grow beyond its Iowa roots, which began in 2011 when UPH acquired Methodist Health Services in Peoria, IL.  UPH is one of the few cross-border, interstate nonprofit healthcare systems in the United States and intends to focus on continued growth into contiguous states.  As part of the agreement, UPH will utilize its scale, clinical integration, and geographic breadth to deliver the resources necessary to help Meriter thrive in the post-Healthcare Reform environment.

Juniper’s Role
Juniper was engaged by the Board of Directors and administration of UPH to advise on their overall healthcare services acquisition program.  UPH’s Board-developed mandate is intended to dramatically increase the size and scope of the system’s business activities.  In its capacity as exclusive advisor to UPH, Juniper identifies potential partners, designs tactics in response to sellers’ M&A processes, and formulates the valuations and structure of change-of-control proposals.

UnityPoint Health
UPH is a fully-integrated nonprofit health system with $2.7 billion in revenue and 24,000 employees throughout eight regions in the Midwest.  UPH’s 2011 – 2013 acquisitions represent a roughly 30% increase in the overall size of the enterprise as represented by net revenue.  UPH is rated AA3 by Moody’s and AA- by Fitch.  It is generally considered a national leader of Accountable Care Organization and other medical delivery initiatives.  UPH’s market presence in Iowa, Illinois, and now Wisconsin will cover over 300 sites of care.

Meriter Health Services
Meriter is a $775 million revenue integrated-delivery system headquartered in Madison, WI.  Meriter’s primary assets consist of a 448-bed tertiary hospital, Physicians Plus Insurance Corporation (PPIC), an 85,000-member managed care company, and the Meriter Medical Group.  Meriter is named as one of the top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals in the country by Thomson Reuters and has been represented on the Best Hospital list by U.S. News and World Report.

For additional details, please refer to this article from the Wisconsin State Journal.