Francisco Partners Announces Sale of Minority Stake in Availity

SAN FRANCISCO -- Francisco Partners, a global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, announced today that it has sold its minority stake in Availity, one of the nation’s largest, real-time health information networks connecting payers and providers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, Availity helps solve the communication challenges in healthcare by creating a richer, more transparent exchange of information among health plans, providers, and technology partners. Today, Availity connects over two million providers to every health plan in the U.S. and facilitates over 13 billion electronic transactions annually.

By working collaboratively with health plans and providers, Availity has built a suite of technology solutions that enable the real-time collaboration needed for success in a value-based care environment. Availity’s existing investors are some of the nation’s largest health plans, including Anthem, GuideWell, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), and Humana.

“We are proud to have had the opportunity to partner alongside Anthem, GuideWell, HCSC and Humana as investors to support Availity as it has continued to grow its network and expand its customer base,” said Chris Adams, Partner at Francisco Partners. “We want to congratulate Russ, the management team, and health plan co-investors on the innovative business that they’ve built, and we look forward to following Availity as it continues to drive deeper collaboration among health plans and providers.”

“Availity’s mission is to disrupt our antiquated healthcare system by solving the core issues that impact how health plans and providers collaborate and communicate. As a member of our investor group, Francisco Partners’ support over the last four years has helped Availity continue to scale and innovate as we work to solve some of the biggest challenges in healthcare today,” said Russ Thomas, CEO of Availity. “The support from our investors has enabled us to build one of the largest health information networks in the nation, and we are excited about the many opportunities ahead working alongside our tenured health plan investors.”

Francisco Partners’ stake in Availity was acquired by Novo Holdings, a leading international healthcare and life science investor, with a focus on creating long-term value.

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.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With more than $25 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Availity

Availity is the place where healthcare finds the answers needed to shift focus back to patient care. We work to solve communication challenges in healthcare by creating a richer, more transparent exchange of information among health plans, providers, and technology partners. As one of the nation’s largest health information networks, Availity facilitates billions of clinical, administrative, and financial transactions annually. Our suite of dynamic products, built on a powerful, intelligent platform, enables real-time collaboration for success in a competitive, value-based care environment.