What Makes for a Strong M&A Deal in Healthcare?
Healthcare M&A is more complicated than getting the right valuation and making it to closing day.
In Episode 6 of GrowthDx, Ashley Kent, Founder & CEO of Clearstart, sits down with Lindsey Reighard, Partner and head of McDermott Will & Schulte’s Texas Corporate & Transactional Practice Group, to unpack what founders, operators, and investors should be thinking about before, during, and after a healthcare transaction.
Drawing from her work with private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, Lindsey shares what makes healthcare deals uniquely complex, why companies should start preparing well before they plan to sell, and how decisions around deal structure, partner selection, governance, and integration can shape what happens long after the transaction closes.
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What’s Covered in this Episode
Preparing Before a Transaction
Why healthcare companies should get their governance, compliance, licensing, insurance, cybersecurity, HIPAA considerations, and broader business story in order well before going to market.
Choosing the Right Partner
Why founders need to look beyond headline valuation and consider how a potential private equity partner operates, what they expect from management, and what the founder wants their own role to look like after the deal.
Structuring for What Comes Next
How rollover equity, governance rights, management incentives, earnouts, and expectations around control can affect the post-close relationship.
The Challenge of Integration
Why buying companies doesn't automatically create a successful platform, and why integration across people, operations, brands, systems, and infrastructure is often underestimated.
Operating After Private Equity Comes In
How sponsors, boards, and management teams can establish clearer decision-making and avoid unnecessary friction.
Timing the Market
Why there may never be a perfect time to sell and why building a strong, growing business puts operators in a better position when the right opportunity arrives.
Ultimately, a strong healthcare deal isn't just one that closes. It's one that gives the business, its leadership team, and its investors the right foundation for what comes next.
About Our Guest
Lindsey Reighard is the Partner in charge of the Texas Corporate & Transactional Practice Group at McDermott Will & Schulte. She represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, along with other private and public companies, in connection with a wide range of corporate and transactional matters.
Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate carve-outs, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, debt and equity investments, and equity restructurings and recapitalizations. Lindsey routinely works with private equity clients and their portfolio companies in healthcare-related industries, giving her a broad perspective on the business and regulatory considerations that shape each deal.
About GrowthDx
GrowthDx is Clearstart's healthcare thought leadership podcast, featuring conversations with the people closest to healthcare's biggest shifts. Hosted by Ashley Kent, Founder & CEO of Clearstart, GrowthDx gives healthcare leaders practical perspectives on where the industry is headed and what they need to prepare for what's next.
Get GrowthDx in your inbox.
A monthly dose of healthcare growth insights, including the industry shifts we're watching, what they mean for healthcare leaders, and practical perspectives on marketing, sales and growth.
