Downers Grove, Ill.-based DuPage Medical Group declared Wednesday a $1.45 billion investment from Ares Management Private Equity Group.
The investment brings together DMG, one of the largest U.S. independent, multispecialty physician groups, and Ares Management, a global alternative asset management firm.
DMG CEO Mike Kasper answered questions from Becker's Hospital Review about the strategic partnership and what it means for his organization.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: How did the partnership come about?
Mike Kasper: We've been private equity backed since 2015 and the organization was performing better than anticipated. As we started to pivot our thinking toward a national strategy, we felt it was time to evaluate the market and see what potential new partners would look like and bring to the table. We were performing better than anticipated, which had us hit the market faster than anticipated, and we had a very favorable response from the market. So those two things in tandem really made us feel we could facilitate moving our strategy forward faster through the Ares partnership.
Q: What are the terms of the transaction?
MK: It's important to note DuPage Medical Group, the medical group itself, remains 100 percent independent and owned by physicians. I think that is critical. As it relates to our relationship on the practice management side, what was critical in the relationship and what we saw in Ares was a commitment to maintain a physician-driven culture. They really did understand how we had set up the company and the benefit it provides patients by having an integrated outpatient model led by physicians to the benefit of patients. They really did get that, and I think those were some of the principles that really drove the decision-making process to head in that direction.
Q: What does the partnership mean for DMG?
MK: We're going to be able to increase our speed to market in terms of our growth across the [Chicago] metropolitan area with physician growth, service line growth, things like immediate care centers, expanding our ambulatory surgery profile, being able to enhance our ability to treat more patients in our oncology program. Also, it will allow us to add infrastructure development around [DMG subsidiary] Boncura [Health Solutions] and improve the service levels and the analytical capabilities of our service organization.
Q: What does the partnership mean for patients?
MK: It's going to allow us to continue to grow and integrate the outpatient delivery system model faster. Because we operate under one tax ID and one medical record, it really allows for a very cohesive patient experience. And because the services we provide are outpatient in nature mainly, we're able to provide the safest, highest-quality care at a low cost relative to other models that are out there in the metropolitan Chicago area. And frankly we see that opportunity scaling on a national level. The need to bring high-quality, high-value care to communities is not unique to Chicago. We think there are opportunities to do it in other parts of the country.
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