Healthcare Antitrust

Executing strategic priorities in the face of heightened scrutiny

Healthcare is changing fast. To stay ahead of the curve, key players across its ecosystem are pursuing strategic mergers, sales, acquisitions, and joint ventures to drive growth and improve patient care. But collaborative partnerships among competitors are gaining intense attention from regulators across the board. We’re here to help healthcare providers, hospitals and health systems, health technology companies, payors, and investors anticipate, prevent, and defend against potential antitrust challenges in the face of ever-increasing scrutiny.

Healthcare Antitrust Transactions

From M&A and private equity investments to joint ventures and strategic alliances, transactions in healthcare face a higher level of complexity and regulatory scrutiny than most. And as private equity becomes increasingly invested in healthcare, regulators across state and federal agencies – including the DOJ, FTC, state attorneys general, and other antitrust agencies, such as the European Commission – are taking notice and action. That’s why we deliver solutions informed by a deep knowledge of the complex rules and regulations and strategic challenges impacting healthcare transactions to protect your interests and maximize opportunity.

We combine extensive antitrust knowhow and unmatched PE and M&A transaction experience in a way no other firm can to help you navigate dealmaking in this dynamic landscape. For the last 14 years in a row, we have handled more M&A deals worldwide than any other law firm and advised on the most global healthcare private equity deals in 2023. We know how to tackle complex regulatory challenges while balancing investment goals in line with trends we see internationally. Beyond closing, we routinely advise portfolio companies, providing peace of mind to investors that their portfolio companies are receiving sound regulatory advice with an eye toward mitigating future risks.

Healthcare Antitrust Lawyers

Our integrated team includes seasoned antitrust lawyers that structure transactions to stand up against aggressive merger enforcement in the healthcare space. These lawyers work in federal and state courts across the country and globally and frequently represent clients before the FTC, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, state attorneys general, the European Commission, and national regulators across the globe. Antitrust agencies globally are part of the International Competition Network and coordinate cases between them making an international team of antitrust lawyers imperative.

With a deep bench of former high-ranking enforcers from federal and state antitrust agencies and experienced trial lawyers that have litigated complex governmental and private antitrust cases, we maintain strong relationships with regulatory authorities around the world, which enables us to anticipate what is on the horizon and help clients seize opportunities and minimize down-side risk.

Changing Healthcare Antitrust Regulations

Beyond the objectives of a specific deal, we understand that strategic transactions are a critical piece of long-term business plans. And as healthcare continues to evolve, forward-looking insights on how decisions in Washington and internationally impact your current and future business objectives are critical to your resiliency and success. That’s why our health policy strategic consulting team provides key intelligence and strategic advice for navigating the evolving regulatory, funding, political, and policy landscapes to create roadmaps for growth in unprecedented times.

Navigating restrictions: State and federal scrutiny of private equity investment and corporatization of healthcare webinar

Experience

Successfully litigated FTC challenge to the merger of our client, a medical device sterilization services provider, and one of its two global competitors. Following a nine-month investigation, intensive follow-on discovery and an evidentiary preliminary injunction hearing, the court denied the FTC’s challenge and the merger closed without the imposition of any remedies.
ICV Partners, a leading private equity investment firm focused on lower middle market companies, in its acquisition of Urgent Care Group and a subsequent merger with ICV’s portfolio company, Total Access Urgent Care. The combined organization will operate more than 50 healthcare clinics in four states and provide improved scale and exposure to the rapidly growing Southeastern US market.
Represented one of the largest private health insurers in Pennsylvania in the FTC antitrust lawsuit to block the merger of Hackensack Meridian Health and Englewood Health. FTC v. Hackensack Meridian Health, Inc., No. 21-2603 (3d Cir. 2022). This case was extremely high profile, and precedent setting. It helped establish the flexibility of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines when defining geographic markets and the contours of a possible efficiencies defense to a merger challenge, as well as the sliding scale used to rebut potential anticompetitive effects. Moreover, the case was highly significant for the client and other healthcare payors, who may have faced less competition in an important market if the merger had gone through.
Leading New England health system client was the subject of a high-profile antitrust merger investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and the Rhode Island Attorney General concerning a proposed merger.
Pieper-Olson Veterinary Hospital, Inc., a Connecticut-based family of veterinary hospitals operating under the name Pieper Veterinary Hospital, in its acquisition by Chicago Pacific Founders (CPF), a leading strategic private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies within value-based care, healthcare services, AI and tech-enabled services, and care for aging populations.
CareMax (Nasdaq: CMAX), a technology-enabled care platform providing value-based care and chronic disease management to seniors, in its acquisition of the Medicare value-based care business of Steward Health Care, which offers both primary care physicians and a full range of specialists who are committed to keeping patients healthy and helping them avoid costly hospital visits.
Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, a middle-market focused private equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, in the sale of Ovation Fertility, a leading provider of fertility laboratory services, including in-vitro fertilization laboratory services, genetic testing, egg and embryo storage and other services for the fertility industry, to US Fertility, a physician practice management company.
Unio Health Partners, a Triton Pacific Capital Partners portfolio company, in its partnership with inSite Digestive Health Care, which joins the platform as the fourth major division of Unio. DLA Piper served as lead counsel for Unio and Triton in the transaction, including corporate, healthcare regulatory, privacy, labor and employment, tax, and other specialty areas. With the inSite transaction, Unio now has 182 providers consisting of 119 physicians and 63 advanced practice providers operating out of 54 locations across Southern, Central, and Northern California.
Starling Physicians, a leading primary care and multi-specialty group in Connecticut, in its sale to Chicago-based VillageMD, which provides high-quality, accessible healthcare services for individuals and communities across the United States. We led the healthcare corporate structuring and diligence aspects of the transaction, including pertinent regulatory approval processes.
Hematology Oncology Consultants, a provider of cancer and blood care services, in its acquisition by Integrated Oncology Network, a provider of oncology center development, management, advisory services, and capital for physician practices and hospitals.
Collage Rehabilitation Partners in its leveraged buyout of Tree of Life Services, via its financial sponsors Deerfield Management and Baird Capital. Tree of Life Services is a provider of long-term supported living services specialized in serving people with acquired brain injury (ABI). The acquisition will provide the company with an additional management infrastructure required to better serve its patients.
Served as counsel to a not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system in the FTC investigation and litigation of its proposed acquisition of a hospital from a healthcare company.
Successfully advised a major health system in its strategic combination in review by the Federal Trade Commission; after considering potential horizontal overlap, cross-market theories, and labor market impacts, the FTC closed its investigation without action.
Represented a health technology company as a non-party witness in the DOJ's investigation and litigation challenge of the proposed acquisition of the health technology company by a healthcare services company’s subsidiary and successfully advocated to remove the client from the trial witness list and prevented all client documents from becoming public trial exhibits.
Obtained antitrust clearance after an FTC investigation for a strategic laboratory outsourcing arrangement for a major Texas hospital system.