Washington, DC (January 31, 2008) – FOCUS LLC, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, announced today that India-based Pradot Technologies acquired GroupOne Healthsource, a full-service healthcare billing, technology and consulting company based in St. Louis, MO. FOCUS represented Pradot Technologies in the international deal.
Founded in 1999, Pradot Technologies is a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm that delivers healthcare administrative support services to small- and medium-sized hospitals and physician practices. Specialty areas include oncology, hematology, neurology and internal medicine. Based in Bangalore and Coimbatore, India, Pradot Technologies employs more than 250 professionals and serves customers in 24 global cities.
After significant expansion in India, Pradot Technologies began looking for opportunities to enter the U.S. market through acquisition in 2006. The main obstacle was instilling confidence among U.S. physicians and hospital administrators who were hesitant to move transcription services offshore. In less than a year, FOCUS was able to find an ideal target for Pradot Technologies, which was GroupOne Healthsource.
With 60 employees, GroupOne Healthsource experienced difficulty recruiting and retaining trained customer support and billing professionals. Instead of engaging in salary wars for qualified employees with regional competitors, GroupOne Healthsource decided to seek alternate solutions for labor cost reductions.
“Pradot Technologies’ buyout proposal came at an opportune time for the owners of GroupOne Healthsource because it addresses both immediate and long-term issues,” said Brad Fleisher, a managing director of FOCUS. “Through acquisition, GroupOne Healthsource gains a flexible solution for its labor problem by offshoring staffing, and its shareholders, whom were not ready to retire, can monetize their equity and remain in the business.”
The acquisition was completed after a two-month offshore trial period, to confirm the feasibility of moving the billing and support services for 11 existing clients from GroupOne Healthsource in St.Louis to Pradot Technologies in India. After the successful trial period, labor costs for GroupOne Healthsource decreased 60 percent; turnaround time improved; and the implementation was seamless to the end user. Thus, the trial period exceeded expectations, and the overseas deal was finalized.
“This acquisition will allow Pradot to grow in ways never before possible,” said Arun Murali, President of Pradot Technologies – U.S. Operations. “By purchasing GroupOne Healthsource, Pradot now has a strong U.S. presence, and we are increasing our service offering and revenue in both countries. We will continue to pursue both organic and acquisitive growth strategies.”
“Indian companies have been acquiring U.S. organizations for several years, but the Pradot deal represents an emerging trend among middle market Indian buyers in the U.S. market, particularly with BPO, IT Services and Software firms,” said Fleisher. “Through this dual shore strategy, Pradot was able to triple its revenue in less than a year, and GroupOne was provided an exit strategy without laying off employees.”
To learn more about the Pradot Technologies acquisition case study, visit www.focusbankers.com.
About FOCUS LLC
FOCUS LLC provides a range of middle market investment banking services with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and corporate finance. FOCUS is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. FOCUS specializes in business units with transactions or revenues in the $5-300 million range, serving entrepreneurs, corporate owners and various types of investors across a broad range of industries, throughout the U.S. and worldwide. FOCUS bankers are seasoned operating and financial executives with extensive transaction experience. Securities transactions conducted by Wm. H. Murphy & Co., Inc. registered Broker Dealer member FINRA/SIPC. For more information on FOCUS, visit www.focusbankers.com.
