Radiology provider Akumin completes bankruptcy process

Radiology provider Akumin Inc. has officially completed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, leaders announced Tuesday.

The Plantation, Florida-based provider group has successfully deleveraged from its debts, which totaled some $470 million at the time of the filing in October. Once a publicly traded entity, Akumin has now delisted its stock from the Nasdaq and Toronto Stock Exchange, with alternative investment firm Stonepeak operating as sole owner.

“We are pleased to have concluded this process and are excited to enter our next chapter as a private company in partnership with Stonepeak,” Akumin CEO Riadh Zine said in an announcement. “We are emerging from this process with significant positive momentum across our business, and in our view, we are better positioned than ever to execute on our strategic plan and drive our future success.”

As part of the transaction, New York-based Stonepeak swapped debts owed by Akumin for ownership of the company. The financial firm also invested an additional $130 million in the radiology group. S&P Global recently labeled Akumin’s filing as one of the largest private equity-backed bankruptcies in the healthcare sector last year, alongside medical transport firm Air Methods Corp.

With a “streamlined capital structure” now in place, Akumin is “well-positioned to take the next step in its journey,” Stonepeak said.

“We look forward to leveraging our resources and expertise as we work alongside Akumin’s talented team to support the company’s continued progress and mission with the objective of enhancing patient experiences and outcomes,” Managing Director Graham Brown said in the announcement.

Akumin once billed itself as the No. 2 imaging provider in the United States. The company provides comprehensive radiology and oncology services to about 1,000 hospitals and health systems across 47 states, also offering fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging through a network of facilities.

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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