Fitch places Athenahealth on rating watch negative amid $17B acquisition

Fitch Ratings placed Athenahealth on rating watch negative following the Watertown, Mass.-based EHR vendor's recent agreement to be acquired by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital.

The credit rating agency said it expects a material increase in debt to fund the $17 billion transaction and would look to resolve the rating watch negative after the deal's financing terms close, according to a Nov. 29 news release. 

Athenahealth on Nov. 22 announced its agreement to be jointly acquired by Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital. Private equity firms Veritas Capital and Elliott Investment Management bought Athenahealth in February 2019 for $5.7 billion. 

While the financing terms of Athenahealth's current acquisition agreement were not disclosed, Fitch said it estimates that a typical leveraged buyout in this situation would result in an increase of borrowed capital.

 

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