Saint Vincent Health System Joins Highmark Allegheny Health Network
Transaction Announcement
Ponder & Co. is pleased to announce that Saint Vincent Health System, Erie, Pennsylvania, has become an affiliate of Allegheny Health Network, a subsidiary of Highmark. As a result of the transaction, Allegheny Health Network now owns a total of seven hospitals, including West Penn Allegheny Health System, Jefferson Regional Medical Center and Saint Vincent Health System. The formation of the Allegheny Health Network is a unique combination of a major health insurance company and several integrated health care services providers.
Saint Vincent Health System
Saint Vincent Health System includes two full service acute care hospitals, 428 bed Saint Vincent Health Center, Erie, which was founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1875, and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, New York, providing various inpatient and outpatient services, along with multiple physician practices and outpatient medical facilities. The system serves the northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York region.
Highmark and Allegheny Health Network
Highmark is a national diversified health and wellness company based in Pittsburgh that serves 33.5 million people across the United States through its businesses in health insurance, dental insurance, vision care, information technology and integrated health care delivery. The company, which has more than 20,000 employees, is among the largest health insurers in the U.S. and the fourth-largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield-affiliated company. Highmark operates health insurance plans in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia that serve 5.3 million members.
Allegheny Health Network was formed in 2013 as a patient-centered integrated health care services company. Its primary business objective is to provide a new model for the delivery of health care services to patients at affordable prices through the collaboration of jointly owned health insurance plans and hospitals. Allegheny Health Network’s seven hospitals have 2,400 licensed beds, and its medical staff is comprised of more than 2,100 physicians with a geographical footprint that touches virtually every community in Western Pennsylvania.
Ponder’s Role
Ponder’s M&A Group served as the exclusive financial advisor to Saint Vincent Health System and assisted in the negotiation of the terms and conditions of the transaction.
Ponder & Co.
Ponder & Co. provides M&A and capital advisory services to more than 150 non-profit hospital and healthcare system clients. Ponder has completed more than 100 M&A engagements involving acute and specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and behavioral health facilities. Transactions have ranged from $4 million to $1.5 billion in value.
Ponder’s M&A services include:
- Strategic option assessments
- Partnerships and joint ventures
- Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures
- Business valuations and fairness opinions
- Board and special committee assignments
- Real estate transaction services