TORONTO — Well Health Technologies Corp. said it will be the largest private-sector operator of outpatient medical clinics in Canada with a deal Monday to buy MyHealth Partners Inc.
Vancouver-based Well Health said it has signed an agreement to buy Toronto-based MyHealth Partners Inc. for up to $266.3 million, adding 48 clinics in Ontario to its growing portfolio of medical businesses.
Well Health chief executive Hamed Shahbazi said that it's his company's 10th acquisition this year, including CRH Medical Corp., a Vancouver-based surgical equipment company that it bought in April for the equivalent of $470 million.
MyHealth, founded in 2013, has 760 health care professionals, including doctors, who provide primary care, specialty care, telehealth services and diagnostic services under Ontario's provincial health insurance program.
About 75 per cent of MyHealth's medical consultations are done through telehealth technology, some of it provided by Well Health's group of companies.
MyHealth chief executive Suresh Madan, who will continue to head the business, said joining Well will help to further develop and implement technologies to cut wait times.
Under the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, Well will pay $82 million in cash, $94.3 million in shares at a deemed price per share of $9.80 and $30 million in convertible promissory notes.
Well has also agreed to a four-year performance-based earn-out worth up to an additional $60 million in cash, shares or a combination of both at Well's discretion.
Among the conditions of the transaction is approval by Ontario's Ministry of Health.
Shahbazi said the expense of medical technology, as well as the demands on the time of physicians that own and operate clinics outside of the hospital system, have held back Canada's adoption of digital health services.
The pandemic forced them to go through an unusual amount of change in a very short period of time in order to support public health requirements, he added.
A self-described "tech generalist" with an interest in modernizing mature industries, Shahbazi said he was focused initially on wellness technologies for yoga and meditation.
"But then as I progressed, I realized the real action here is helping practitioners and patients — particularly practitioners, because they're the real care providers," Shahbazi said.
Through multiple subsidiaries Well Health provides electronic medical records services, billing services, cybersecurity services and clinics in several provinces including B.C. and Ontario, as well as in the United States.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2021.
Companies in this story: (TSX:WELL)
David Paddon, The Canadian Press
