Protegrity Advises Medical Practice in Acquisition by Social Impact Private Equity Firm

Protegrity Advises Medical Practice in Acquisition by Social Impact Private Equity Firm

Ronkonkoma, NY - Protegrity Advisors, a leading M&A advisory firm that specializes in the niche between an investment bank and a business broker, has advised the owners of an eight-office family medical practice in the acquisition of its wholly owned management company by Bridges Fund Management. Bridges U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund is the New York-based fund of a London headquartered private equity firm focused on social impact investing. The deal closed in July 2018.

Medwood Services provides administrative and management support services to New York Family Practice Physicians, which has practice locations in Brooklyn and Queens. The practice plans to expand significantly throughout the New York metropolitan area and surrounding counties. "Given our size, reputation, and strong relationships with our patients and the communities we serve developed over more than 20 years, we were approached by several major hospitals and physicians networks," said co-founder Dr. Glenn Muraca, "but we didn t believe that taking those paths would be beneficial to our patients in the long run."

"Protegrity Advisors worked with us to identify and evaluate potential strategies and options, and when they introduced us to Bridges, we knew that we had found the right partner for our patients and employees," added co-founder Dr. Giovanni Marciano. He added that "the Protegrity team demonstrated their expertise and tremendous value at every step in the process and allowed us to keep our primary focus on the care of our patients, rather than on the transaction."

Bridges Fund Management invests in organizations that are in a position to provide a measurable positive impact on health and wellness while also delivering attractive returns to investors. According to Ed Niemczyk, Director of Bridges U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund, "We believe that the trend of the last 20 years toward medical specialists has left a major gap in the healthcare system, particularly with respect to underserved areas, for general, primary care physicians, who are uniquely qualified to efficiently and effectively manage the entire spectrum of healthcare-related services that families need in these communities. Drs. Marciano and Muraca have developed a model that works, and we view it as a platform to grow both organically and through acquisition of other like-minded medical practices. Gregg Schor and the Protegrity team were a pleasure to work with and provided practical, patient, and thorough advice to their clients that facilitated a successful outcome for all the stakeholders in our partnership. We look forward to working with the Protegrity team in the future."

"It s very rewarding that we not only delivered tremendous value to the client, but also put together a transaction that will allow the practice to serve as a healthcare platform and for its coverage area and the types of services offered to expand and benefit communities throughout New York City, Long Island and elsewhere," said Gregg Schor, CEO of Protegrity Advisors.

Long Island law firm Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, represented New York Family Practice Physicians and the management company, Medwood Services.