Private equity firm acquiring one of nation’s largest outpatient imaging providers for $600M

UPDATE: SimonMed confirmed its partnership with American Securities on April 21. Read more about the announcement here

Consolidation continues to spread in imaging, with a New York-based private equity firm reportedly reaching a deal to buy SimonMed, one of the nation’s largest outpatient radiology chains.

American Securities will pay $600 million to acquire the Scottsdale, Arizona, hybrid practice, which includes a large radiology group and 150 imaging centers. The parties originally reached a deal in early March and hope to close by the end of April, PE Hub reported Friday citing anonymous sources.

The same publication revealed in January that SimonMed was exploring a sale, focused specifically on finding company sponsors rather than an outright acquisition. Sources told PE Hub the practice tallied $75 million in adjusted 2020 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Two others reportedly bid in the auction, the publication noted. American Securities declined to comment on the report, while SimonMed did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Founded by CEO and radiologist John Simon, MD, SimonMed has served its Arizona community for some 30 years, according to the company website. The practice employs more than 200 radiologists and labels itself as both one of the largest radiology practices in the U.S. and largest outpatient imaging providers, operating such centers across nine states.

The SimonMed news follows a spate of recent acquisitions in the specialty. El Segundo, California-based imaging giant Radiology Partners just added six practices, while other investor-backed players such as the Center for Diagnostic Imaging and U.S. Radiology Specialists have also completed acquisitions.

Marty Stempniak

Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic. 

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