Edge Healthcare Partners, LLC, an independent Atlanta-based investment banking firm led by industry veterans, has joined forces with Edge Corporate Finance, LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Edge Capital Partners, LLC), to provide M&A and other advisory services to middle-market healthcare companies and private equity firms. Edge Healthcare Partners will supplement Edge Corporate Finance’s M&A and capital raising services with dedicated healthcare expertise. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Edge Capital Partners is a leading independent investment firm founded to provide wealth management and corporate finance advisory services to a select group of wealthy families, institutions and entrepreneurs.
The founders of Edge Healthcare Partners previously held senior investment banking positions at Houlihan Lokey, Smith Barney, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and its predecessor, The Robinson-Humphrey Company, LLC.
Edge Healthcare Partners will focus principally on representing private and public healthcare companies in sales, divestitures and acquisitions; and representing private equity firms in the sale of portfolio companies. The firm will help companies raise capital for growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, going-private and management buy-out transactions, and also will provide valuations, fairness opinions and strategic advisory services. For transactions involving securities, the securities will be offered through Edge Corporate Finance, LLC.
Consistent with the founders’ healthcare backgrounds and experience, Edge Healthcare Partners will primarily seek transactions with values ranging from $25 million to $500 million.
Through their affiliation, Edge Corporate Finance and Edge Healthcare Partners will be able to deliver a more expansive set of services to their respective clients and interact with a broader network of companies, private equity sponsors and entrepreneurs.
“We believe this is a very exciting time to be starting an independent healthcare investment banking platform. The increasing demand for healthcare services and focus on providing and paying for healthcare creates tremendous demand for independent and experienced advisors to work with companies and private equity sponsors,” said Todd Watkins, Partner of Edge Healthcare Partners.
Watkins continued, “Several factors make advising healthcare companies complex and experience and expertise essential including: the diversity of products and services within the industry, the dynamic government and private payer environment and the constantly evolving compliance, regulatory and reimbursement backdrop.”
“The vast majority of middle market advisory firms have been acquired by banks and other lending institutions during the last economic cycle. As the credit markets deteriorated over the last 18 months, the number and complexity of conflicts that this ownership structure has created are more apparent,” Watkins said.