A Baltimore-area health care information technology company that made the Inc. 5000 list 10 years in a row is getting acquired.
Audacious Inquiry will be acquired by Mississauga, Ontario-based PointClickCare Technologies in a deal announced Tuesday. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Audacious Inquiry has been one of Baltimore's fastest-growing companies since being founded in 2004 by CEO Chris Brandt. The company made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. every year from 2010 to 2020. The company reported $24.9 million in revenue in 2019, according to Baltimore Business Journal research. President Scott Afzal said annual revenue is currently closer to $40 million.
The company is headquartered in Catonsville at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. Brandt said Audacious Inquiry's space is undergoing renovations and the company plans to remain there after the deal closes.
Audacious Inquiry offers health IT and policy services to federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as regional health information exchanges, hospital associations, state governments and other health care organizations. Its cloud-based software helps physicians, hospitals, health plans and public health agencies securely exchange patient information.
PointClickCare's health care technology platform serves more than 25,000 long‐term post‐acute care providers and more than 1,600 hospitals. The company's software gives care teams point-in-time access to data to help them better serve patients.
"We are incredibly proud to join the PointClickCare family, where we see alignment with the ambition inherent in our mission – to be the single most impactful platform for transforming care,” Brandt said in a statement.
The companies declined to disclose the acquisition price because they don't want the number "to be a distraction" and "get more attention than it deserves," Afzal said in an interview. The combined company will reach 2,700 hospitals, more than 2,000 ambulatory facilities and more than 22,000 long-term and post-acute care facilities.
PointClickCare CEO Dave Wessinger said in a statement the acquisition will enable the company to expand the reach of its own software by adding Audacious Inquiry's products and network of relationships "as the shift to value‐based care fuels the growing market demand for intelligence and collaboration tools."
Afzal said Audacious Inquiry is excited about the acquisition because it helps improve care coordination for more patients. For example, when a senior is discharged from the hospital and needs to go to a skilled nursing facility, Audacious Inquiry's software helps ensure the right information is transferred to the patient's physician or specialist as the transition is happening.
"By combining with PointClickCare we have a much much stronger ability to make those connections happen," Afzal said.
All 170 of Audacious Inquiry's employees will join PointClickCare. Brandt said he will move into an advisory role.
Audacious Inquiry considered doing a Series C fundraising round or entering into a partnership. But Brandt said getting acquired by PointClickCare was the best move for the long-term future of the company.
"We evaluated in the light of the impact on our team, our customers and the communities we serve as well as the economics of any transaction," Brandt said. "We are really excited about the significant opportunity in front for our team members."
