Longtime health care technology executive David Blair, a partner at Monumental Sports and Entertainment, is spearheading a new "blank check" company that aims to raise up to $345 million to invest in health care technology companies, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings filed Friday.
Bethesda-based Healthcare Services Acquisition Corp. is just the latest in a series of what are called "special purpose acquisition companies" (SPACs), also known as "blank check companies," which raise money through an initial public offering without any products or services. The firms then use the cash to acquire or merge with another company or companies, essentially taking that company public without the traditional IPO process. There have been a proliferation of such SPACs in 2020.
Healthcare Services Acquisition Corp.'s biggest investor is Healthcare Services Acquisition Holdings LLC, a company set up by the the blank check company's founders which purchased about 8.625 million shares of stock in September. Investment firm BlackRock Inc., has separately agreed to purchase $25.59 million in shares, according to the SEC filings.
The company intends to trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “HCARU.” The Washington Business Journal reached out to Blair and another company executive and will update this story when we hear back.
Blair has been the executive chairman of Accountable Health Solutions Inc. since 2013. Before that, he served as the founding CEO of Catalyst Health Solutions, which went public in 1999 and sold in 2012 for $4.4 billion to pharmacy benefits manager SXC Health Solutions Corp.
President and board member Martin Payne has served in executive positions at MedX, Comprehensive Clinical Solutions and HRGi, and for four years worked with Blair on mergers and acquisitions at Catalyst Health Solutions.
While the health care background of its executives provide a competitive edge, the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has also put a spotlight on health care in general, the SEC filing states.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated and amplified the attention paid to the U.S. health care system. Public and private entities are placing an increasing emphasis on the resilience and stability of the system, in particular shortening supply chains, reducing reliance on offshore suppliers, and improving reliability and efficiency," the company said in its filing. That works well with what the company said was its "playbook" for creating shareholder value through cost and margin efficiencies, according to the filing.
The company also points to certain larger trends that are reshaping the health care industry, with total national health care spending reaching $3.6 trillion in 2018 and expected to approach 20% of the entire U.S. GDP in the coming years. Health care spending will continue to grow at an annual 5.4% through 2028, the filing states, citing Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.
