Investment firm BlackRock will acquire a majority stake in nearly 150 CenterWell Senior Primary Care care clinics, Humana announced Tuesday.
Humana has been doubling down on primary care delivery in a bid to diversify its revenue in recent years, expanding CenterWell through a series of investments and acquisitions. The division has grown to operate more than 350 senior primary care locations through CenterWell Senior Primary Care and its sister brand, Conviva Senior Primary Care.
Now, over the next two years, BlackRock, one of the biggest investment firms in the world, will use its deep pockets to fuel CenterWell’s growth, including by building clinics and pursuing new acquisitions, Humana said.
Under the deal announced Tuesday, BlackRock will hold a majority stake in nearly 150 CenterWell clinics previously backed by WCAS.
The joint ventures with WCAS, established in 2020 and 2022, “were instrumental in successfully scaling CenterWell into the nation’s largest provider of senior-focused value-based primary care over the last seven years,” Humana said in a statement.
But the new joint venture with BlackRock offers greater financial and operational flexibility for Humana.
Humana says it expects a significant reduction in the liabilities on its balance sheet due to the removal of a “put option” in the new joint venture. A put option would essentially force Humana to buy back their equity stake in the clinics at a predetermined price, regardless of whether Humana wanted to make that purchase at that time. WCAS had a put option as part of its deal, but that clause has been removed for BlackRock.
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