Strategic health IT investment will strengthen payer-provider collaboration and reduce waste in healthcare

Novo Holdings A/S (“Novo Holdings” and “NH”), a leading international investor in healthcare and life sciences, today announced a strategic minority investment in Availity, one of the largest healthcare data and administrative networks connecting payers and providers throughout the United States.

Availity is a leader in payer-provider collaboration. Through its digital provider engagement, clearinghouse, and revenue cycle technology solutions, Availity provides a critical infrastructure that connects hospitals and physicians with health plans while removing administrative burden and cost from the healthcare system. The company’s service offerings allow healthcare professionals to manage the administrative, clinical, and financial data needed to fuel real-time coordination among providers, health plans, and their patients, thereby increasing efficiency in the delivery of healthcare.

Availity connects over two million providers to every health plan in the United States. Through their multi-payer platform, Availity facilitates over 13 billion electronic transactions annually.

Availity was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, with offices in Indianapolis, Indiana and Bangalore, India. The company employs 1,300 associates.

“We are delighted to welcome Novo Holdings as our newest partner,” said Russ Thomas, CEO, Availity. “Novo Holdings brings new and exciting perspectives to our organization. Their deep experience in global healthcare and commitment to build a stronger, more sustainable healthcare system will help us take payer-provider collaboration, and the tangible benefits of that collaboration, to the next level.”

“Novo Holdings will join our existing base of strategic shareholders who include Anthem, Inc., Humana, Health Care Service Corporation, and GuideWell,” said Thomas.

Novo Holdings is a leading healthcare and life sciences investor with a focus on creating long-term, sustainable value. Headquartered in Copenhagen, with offices in San Francisco, Boston, London and Singapore, Novo Holdings has a portfolio of more than 120 healthcare and life sciences companies and total assets of more than EUR 60 billion at the end of 2020. Healthcare IT is a strategic focus area for Novo Holdings, and Availity represents a strategic platform investment where Novo Holdings is eager to deploy more capital. Availity is Novo Holdings’ largest investment into healthcare IT to date.

“We are looking forward to becoming a strategic partner to Availity and joining the board. Healthcare IT and tech-enabled healthcare services are areas where we have robust experience and a strong network. As a long-term investor in healthcare and life sciences, we believe we can contribute valuable knowledge and perspectives to the company,” said Abhijeet Lele, Senior Partner and Head of U.S. Principal Investments, Novo Holdings A/S.

“We are excited to invest in a company at the center of the US healthcare system. Given the focus of Availity’s solutions on reducing administrative burden and wasteful spending, we see the company as having a positive societal benefit. We are looking forward to being part of Availity’s future growth trajectory and becoming part of a company whose services and innovations have such an important purpose in in the broader healthcare ecosystem,” said Jonathan Levy, Senior Partner, Principal Investments, Novo Holdings A/S.

Abhijeet Lele and Jonathan Levy will join the board of directors at Availity.

“The partnership with Novo Holdings reflects an important milestone in the growth of Availity. Novo Holdings brings a unique perspective and approach to the organization and a broad view of ways to positively impact health care,” said Chuck Divita, Board Chair of Availity and GuideWell’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Markets. “We welcome Abhijeet and Jonathan to the Board and look forward to advancing Availity with Novo Holdings.”

Novo Holdings acquired its stake in Availity from Francisco Partners, a global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, which had been an investor in Availity since 2017.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP acted as legal advisors to Availity, LLC. Goodwin Proctor LLP acted as legal advisor to Novo Holdings.