It was announced on Friday, November 18 that Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NIA (also known as Magellan Specialty Health), the specialty benefit management organization owned by Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC). NIA provides management services for cost and quality in the areas of radiology, musculoskeletal, physical medicine and genetics. Bass, Berry & Sims is assisting Evolent in all aspects of the transaction. Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Angela Humphreys, Price Wilson, and Emily Burrows assisted in the transaction.
Evolent will acquire NIA for an upfront consideration of $650 million, comprised of $400 million in cash and $250M of newly issued Evolent stock based on an issuance price of $29.50. Up to $150 million is also payable in Q1 2024 contingent upon NIA’s performance during 2023. This is the largest transaction Evolent has announced to date. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to adj. EBITDA margins and cash flow, Evolent said in a statement.
Aside from the deal, Evolent and Centene are also extending NIA’s contracts with CNC through 2027. Furthermore, in announcing the transaction, Evolent said it now anticipates 2023 reported revenue growth to exceed 25%.
Both Evolent and Centene issued releases with details about the transaction.
- Evolent Health Announces Acquisition of Specialty Asset NIA and Strategic Partnership with Centene (Evolent website)
- Centene Signs Definitive Agreement to Divest Magellan Specialty Health (Centene website)
The deal was covered in several media outlets including:
- Law360
- MarketScreener
- Hospitals Management
- Guru Focus
- M&A Navigator