Myhealth founder closes in on Crescent’s home doctor business
Turns out it’s not just ASX-listed insurance giant Medibank that’s keeping Myhealth Medical Group’s founder, James Liang, busy – he’s also quietly put together an acquisition from his erstwhile private equity investor.
James Liang, CEO and founder of Myhealth Medical Group.
Street Talk can reveal a consortium, spearheaded by Liang and Dr Jonathan Brown, has been anointed preferred bidder for Crescent Capital Partners’ 24-7 Healthcare (née National Home Doctor), which was put up for sale earlier this year via Rothschild. The group is expected to close the deal around November 1.
It is understood Liang is working with MA Financial Australia on his tilt for 24-7 Healthcare. Sources said MA Growth Ventures was leading a lender syndicate that would provide senior debt and some mezzanine financing for the acquisition.
Should the deal complete as expected, Liang would take ownership of a mobile primary care platform that employs 300 doctors and 110 nurses and is tipped to make $50 million revenue and $5 million EBITDA this calendar year. The business includes medical deputising service 13SICK, privately funded telehealth consultation provider 24-7MedCare and lastly, in-home drug delivery service National Home Nurse.
It is interesting timing for Liang, a doctor who seems to have more live deals than some life-long investment bankers right now.
As revealed by this column, Liang has been in negotiations with Medibank to further sell down his stake in Myhealth Medical Group, a roll-up he founded in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills 13 years ago and has built to 108 clinics, servicing more than 3 million patients a year.
Liang sold a 55 per cent stake in Myhealth to Crescent Capital Partners in 2016 for about $30 million. Five years later, Crescent offloaded a 33.4 per cent economic interest – which equated to a 49 per cent stake – for $63 million to Medibank. The insurer has been looking to expand into primary care, and its group chief financial officer Mark Rogers chairs Myhealth’s board.
Sources say Medibank holds a call option to buy the remaining 51 per cent of Myhealth that’s left with Liang. The insurer is understood to be pushing for its target to run a sale process, purely so it can determine how much to pay for the remaining stake.
Should Medibank lift its stake in Myhealth as expected, it would be the insurer’s first investment where it goes past the 50 per cent mark on the shareholder register. Its holdings in short-stay hospitals Integrated Mental Health and SydOrtho are 50-50 joint ventures, while it owns 49 per cent each in Adeney Private Hospital and East Sydney Hospital.
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