Fresenius Medical Care has announced it has entered into an agreement to invest approximately $600 million in Sound Inpatient Physicians.
Fresenius Medical Care, which has its North American headquarters in Waltham, Mass., specializes in the production of medical supplies that facilitate or aid renal dialysis.
Sound Inpatient Physicians, headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., is a hospitalist organization with more than 1,000 physician partners providing care in over 100 hospitals and post-acute care centers across the U.S.
Under the terms of the agreement, Fresenius would become majority shareholder as part of a recapitalization of Sound, alongside existing investor TowerBrook Capital Partners and Sound’s senior leadership team.
Fresenius Medical Care also announced it has acquired MedSpring Urgent Care Centers. MedSpring, headquartered in Austin, Texas, operates 14 urgent care centers in Illinois and Texas.
Considering Fresenius and DaVita are the two biggest dialysis companies in the world and are in frequent head-to-head competition both globally and locally for individual physician/clinic talent, the moves here by Fresenius — which has historically been a bit slower to diversify and look at unique opportunities — is likely in response to the DaVita purchase of HealthCare Partners in late 2012.
DaVita acquired HealthCare Partners, which managed medical groups and physician networks in three states, for $4.4 billion. With the acquisition, DaVita became known as DaVita HealthCare Partners.
As we noted in a 2012 column, DaVita’s acquisition was representative of the trend of dialysis providers expanding their services to renal patients. With news of Fresenius’s acquisitions, it is apparent this trend continues.