ROSEMONT, Ill. & BOSTON– Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), a premier private equity firm investing in growth companies, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Intelligent Medical Objects (“IMO,” or “the Company”), a healthcare data enablement company and market leader in clinical terminology solutions from Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor. THL’s investment will support the Company’s product development and expanded commercial relationships with hospitals and other health care providers.
Founded in 1994, IMO manages more than 5 million clinical terms and maps to all major coding systems. Its suite of software products, which is used by over 740,000 physicians daily, helps hospitals minimize clinician burnout, reduce unnecessary care and charges, optimize billing and reimbursement, streamline data management, and inform better care. The Company’s newer offerings help improve data quality by streamlining clinical workflows and standardizing patient condition and treatment data.
“We could not be more excited to partner with our new colleagues at IMO,” said Joshua Nelson, Managing Director at THL and Head of the firm’s Healthcare group. “At a time when hospitals and physicians feel the strain of heightened demand and limited capacity, IMO’s products help deliver improved patient care and satisfaction. This works to the benefit of those providing care, and those seeking it.”
“THL’s investment in IMO validates the next stage of growth for our business, our products, and our employees,” said Ann Barnes, IMO’s CEO. “For three decades, IMO has been building products critical to addressing healthcare’s most pressing health IT needs and this partnership allows us to accelerate our expansion in both provider and non-provider markets.”
“IMO has built sophisticated products that eliminate many of the legacy inefficiencies and asymmetries in medical billing, scheduling, and clinical record keeping,” said Shahab Vagefi, Managing Director at THL. “We see a blue-sky opportunity to build on these products and expand the Company’s relationships with hospitals and health care providers nationwide.”
“We are incredibly proud of IMO’s tremendous growth over the past six years of our partnership. Through the launch of innovative products, expansion into new markets and the support of strong talent at the Company, IMO remains a leader in simplifying complex healthcare data for thousands of hospitals and physicians,” said Vishnu Menon, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus and Andrew Park, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus. “IMO is well positioned for continued success, and we look forward to the next chapter of its growth,” added Parag Gupta, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus.
Evercore acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to IMO. William Blair acted as financial advisor, Ropes & Gray acted as legal advisor, Kirkland & Ellis acted as financing legal advisor and Deloitte acted as accounting and tax advisor to THL.
