H.I.G. Growth Partners Completes Strategic Transaction with Soderstrom Skin Institute and MedPro Advantage
BOSTON – July 11, 2019 – H.I.G. Growth Partners (“H.I.G.”), the dedicated growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has completed a strategic investment in MedPro Advantage (“MedPro” or the “Company”), the affiliated management services organization for Soderstrom Skin Institute (“Soderstrom”). Founded in 1973 by Dr. Carl Soderstrom as a single dermatology practice, Soderstrom has grown to become the largest dermatology practice in its region, with eight locations offering comprehensive dermatology services to communities underserved by specialist care.
H.I.G.’s investment in MedPro was made based on a shared vision with the existing management team to continue to drive growth at Soderstrom while maintaining the independent culture of the practice with a focus on providing high quality patient care throughout Illinois, Iowa and surrounding states. H.I.G. completed the investment in partnership with Dr. Soderstrom who will remain a significant shareholder in MedPro and will also retain his current roles as President and Medical Director of Soderstrom. MedPro will continue to be led by CEO Tina Peugh, an experienced operator who has been with Soderstrom for 20 years. Robert Coward, former President of Physician Services at Envision, and President of Amsurg and Sheridan, will join the Company’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Carl Soderstrom, founder, President and Medical Director, said, “As I continue to practice dermatology and medicine, and as our organization continues to grow as it has for 40+ years, my partners, staff and I are proud to partner with H.I.G., who shares our values and supports our vision to serve our loyal clients with best-in-class patient engagement. While consolidation of practices is popular across the dermatology industry, Soderstrom chose to partner with H.I.G. to enable Soderstrom to preserve its independent identity.”
CEO Tina Peugh commented, “Partnering with H.I.G. provides us with additional experience growing multi-site healthcare services businesses and the added resources and capital needed as we continue to grow the Soderstrom platform and extend care to a broader patient base.”
Mark Tricolli, a Managing Director with H.I.G., added, “We identified the dermatology practice management sector as an area we want to invest in given the strong industry tailwinds, primarily driven by an aging population, higher incidence of skin cancer, and increasing demand for cosmetic procedures. We are very excited to be partnered with a great team at a leading platform, with significant infrastructure already in place to support continued growth in existing and new markets.”
Edgemont Partners served as the exclusive financial adviser to Soderstrom and MedPro, with Norton Rose Fulbright serving as legal advisor. McGuireWoods served as legal advisor to H.I.G. Debt financing to support the recapitalization was provided by Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group.
About Soderstrom
Soderstrom offers a broad suite of services across Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa, including general dermatology, cosmetic dermatology, Mohs surgery, plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, laser procedures and a med spa. Soderstrom’s reputation for high-quality, specialized dermatology services and superior patient care has enabled the practice to develop lasting relationships with its patients since Soderstrom’s founding in 1973. Today, Soderstrom has nearly 200 dedicated clinical employees and completes ~140,000 patient visits a year. Soderstrom has offices in Peoria, Morton, Peru, Galesburg and Normal, Illinois; and offices in Clinton, Davenport and Muscatine, Iowa. For more information, please refer to the Soderstrom website at www.soderstromskininstitute.com.
About H.I.G. Growth Partners
H.I.G. Growth Partners is the dedicated growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm with over $31 billion of equity capital under management.* We seek to make both majority and minority investments in strong, growth oriented businesses located throughout North America, South America and Europe. We will invest up to $75 million in equity in a given company and target investments in profitable growth oriented businesses with between $10 million and $100 million in revenues. We consider investments across all industries, but focus on certain high-growth sectors where H.I.G. has extensive in-house expertise such as technology, healthcare, internet and media, consumer products and technology-enabled financial and business services. Growth Partners strives to work closely with our management teams to serve as an experienced resource, providing broad-based strategic, operational, recruiting, and financial management services from a vast in-house team and a substantial network of third-party relationships. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.HIGgrowth.com.
* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.