THL Partners has announced the closing of its newest fund.

The fund — THL Equity Fund X — closed with $6.35 billion in investable capital.

THL, founded in 1974 and based in Boston, is a private equity firm investing in middle market growth companies in a few sectors, including healthcare. The firm typically targets companies with enterprise values between $250 million and $2.5 billion.

Mako Capital Group has announced its launch.

Mako, based in Miami, is a private equity firm specializing in acquiring lower-middle market U.S. companies in healthcare, financial and other services. Mako targets businesses with $5 million to $15 million of EBITDA and invests $25 million to $50 million of equity per transaction. The firm was founded by Angel Morales, Pete Amaro and Oscar Munoz.

Mako’s initial portfolio investments included Mangrove Health, a Miami-based healthcare services platform focused on preventive, community-based care.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Oncology commands roughly 40% of the national drug spend. Retina is close behind. “If you follow the drug spend, you’ll find that the distributors are really building an ecosystem around it,” says Jeanne Proia, managing director at Cross Keys Capital and president of its healthcare services group. 

In this conversation with McGuireWoods partner and host Geoff Cockrell, Jeanne unpacks the market. Unlike traditional PE deals, she says, these transactions leave physicians holding their own equity inside a long-term MSO relationship, trading the second bite at the apple for cash upfront and taking the risk off.

As she explains: “They’re able to bring a lot more synergies just because they’re getting to be bigger and bigger, and they can use that money to support all the synergies, whether it’s clinical trials, recruiting or RCM.”

THL Partners will acquire Celerion from H.I.G. Capital for $1.8 billion, according to news releases and industry reports.

Celerion, formed in 2010 and based in Lincoln, Nebraska, is a global provider of clinical pharmacology and bioanalytical sciences.

THL, founded in 1974 and based in Boston, is a private equity firm investing in middle market growth companies in a few sectors, including healthcare. The firm typically targets companies with enterprise values between $250 million and $2.5 billion.

H.I.G., founded in 1993 and based in Miami, pursues a wide range of investments in healthcare and many other industries. The firm has flexibility on investment size, including interest in pre-EBITDA businesses. Within healthcare, the firm targets companies in the provider services, hospital/major facilities and life sciences/pharmaceutical industries.

The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Accel-KKR has invested in Staritas, according to a news release.

Staritas, based in Boston, is the spend management and recall management solutions company spun out by ECRI, a global healthcare quality and safety nonprofit organization.

Accel-KKR, founded in 2000 and based in Menlo Park, California, is a technology-focused investment firm. The firm pursues middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments and credit alternatives.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Grovecourt Capital has announced an investment in Guide Architecture.

Guide, founded in 2014 and based in Dallas, is a national architecture and interior design firm dedicated to the healthcare industry.

Grovecourt, founded in 2022 and based in West Palm Beach, Florida, is a lower middle market private equity firm that seeks investments in founder-led and family-owned companies in healthcare and a few other sectors.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

How did Allied Digestive Health build a gastroenterology program that’s “second to none” with roughly 200 gastroenterologists across New York and New Jersey? CEO Matt Devine unpacks the strategies, such as investing in technology and having one EMR across the platform that’s world class.

“If we’re just going out and getting larger, that’s nice and that’s admirable. But what we really need to do at the end of the day is improve outcomes. And that’s what our doctors take pride in every day,” he tells McGuireWoods partner and host Geoff Cockrell.

Tune in for Matt’s insights about what Geoff calls the “triple aims” in healthcare: improving outcomes, improving access and controlling system cost.

Afterburner Capital and Council Capital have exited Advanced Care Partners (ACP), according to a news release.

ACP, founded in 2010 and based in Atlanta, is a provider of home-based care for medically fragile children and adults.

Afterburner, founded in 2010 and based in Miami, is a private equity firm that focuses on healthcare and aerospace technology.

Council, founded in 2000 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, focuses on lower middle market healthcare companies. The firm pursues majority and minority investments in companies with enterprise values generally between $10 million and $100 million.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.