Huron buys healthcare consultancy Studer Group
A massive deal in the US healthcare consultancy market has been announced, with Huron Consulting Group buying Studer Group for a fee of $325 million. Studer Group will be integrated into Huron Healthcare, and create a healthcare consulting practice that will have more than 1,500 employees.
Huron Consulting Group is with roughly 2,500 employees and revenues of $820 million one of the larger consulting firms in the US, the globe’s largest advisory market. The firm serves several key markets, including the healthcare and life sciences segment through its Huron Healthcare brand. Studer Group has roughly 235 full-time employees and works with more than 750 health parties throughout the US.
With the acquisition of Studer Group, Huron bolsters its health footprint and offerings, acknowledges James H. Roth, Chief Executive Officer of Huron. “Studer Group is the market leader in driving cultural transformation to help hospitals improve performance. The combination of Huron and Studer Group will create the premier professional services firm focused on improving healthcare providers’ clinical, operational, and financial outcomes." Together, the combined organisation will have more than 1,500 dedicated healthcare professionals. In addition to adding headcount, the deal will also add technology tools that “uniquely bolster Huron Healthcare’s core solutions,” says Roth.
Barry Graham Porter, Chief Executive Officer of Studer Group, says that the decision to be integrated into Huron is mainly driven by the high strategic and cultural fit between the two firms. "Huron and Studer Group share a passion to make a difference. Our offerings are complementary in all areas of client service to meet the needs of leadership.” Quint Studer, founder of the healthcare advisory (established in 2000), adds: “Becoming part of Huron, we will strengthen our foundation and together, Huron and Studer Group will have an even greater impact to improve quality and access while reducing cost."
From a financial viewpoint, the acquisition will bring Huron’s revenue past the $900 million landmark, and is expected to boost key financial metrics. Roth explains: “We expect the acquisition to be accretive to our 2015 financial results, enhance our growth, margins, cash flow, and non-GAAP earnings per share.” The $325 million deal has been financed via $323 million in cash and $2 million in Huron common stock.
Globally the healthcare consulting market is stimated to be worth $6.33 billion, with the US the largest market, valued at almost two thirds (62%) of the industry.
Deals
For Huron the transaction is the second in the space of a few months. Last month it acquired Sky Analytics, a legal spend management software provider, and in October last year it purchased Threshold Consulting, a US based provider of IT consulting capabilities.
