Lawyers from four prominent law firms are overseeing the $8.9 billion transaction to take R1 RCM Inc. private. This notable deal involves TowerBrook Capital Partners and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice acquiring R1 in an all-cash transaction, announced on Thursday. This acquisition occurs amid a surge in take-private deals this year.
The firms leading the charge include Kirkland & Ellis, guiding the company, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, advising a special committee of the R1 RCM board. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is advising TowerBrook, which owns a 36% stake in R1, and Debevoise & Plimpton is representing Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
This transaction underscores a broader trend where public companies, dealing with rising costs and pressures from shareholder activists, are increasingly considering going private. Notably, global take-private deals have reached $127 billion through July, close to last year’s total, which indicates a robust market for such transactions.
The legal teams involved bring extensive expertise. The Kirkland & Ellis team is headed by corporate partners Robert Hayward, Sarkis Jebejian, Brad Reed, and Steven Choi, supported by capital markets partners Ana Sempertegui and Ben Richards. The Skadden team comprises M&A partners Graham Robinson, Laura Knoll, and Faiz Ahmad, among others. The Debevoise team includes M&A partners Kevin Rinker, Katherine Durnan Taylor, and Christopher Anthony.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, marking a significant shift in R1’s corporate structure and setting a noteworthy precedent in the healthcare sector. For further details, refer to the full article.