Nautic Partners Pays $853M to Acquire American Renal Associates

The board of directors at ARA unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

Private equity firm Nautic Partners, LLC has announced that it will acquire outpatient dialysis provider American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $853 million.

Under the terms, ARA shareholders will get $11.50 per share in cash, which represents a 66% premium on to Beverly, Massachusetts-based company's closing price on October 1.

"This transaction recognizes the value of the Company and delivers a meaningful premium to shareholders," ARA Chairman and CEO Joe Carlucci said in a media release.

Carlucci said he will delay his previously announced retirement "in order to guide the company through this transaction and into its next stage."  

Nautic Principal Dan Killeen said the acquisition combines "ARA management and IRC's complementary team of executives as we look to support the Company in executing against its strategic plan built on a differentiated, patient-centric approach to the renal care market."

The board of directors at ARA unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

The agreement includes a 40-day "go-shop" period, which permits an independent board at ARA to solicit and negotiate offers from other interested buyers, with the right to nullify the deal with Providence, Rhode Island-based Nautic if they get a better offer elsewhere

One of the largest outpatient dialysis providers in the United States, ARA operates 251 clinics in 27 States and the District of Columbia serving more than 17,300 patients with end-stage renal disease.

ARA mostly relies on a business model that partners with local nephrologists to develop, own and operate clinics.