DuPage Medical Group, the largest independent physicians group in the Chicago area, has received a $250 million infusion, including an undisclosed amount from a private equity firm interested in helping the practice continue to expand.
The investment from Boston-based Summit Partners is part of a national trend of private equity firms buying into medical groups, although it’s still uncommon in the Chicago area.
With more than 480 doctors and a projected $575 million in 2015 revenue, Downers Grove-based DuPage Medical has been growing rapidly by acquiring other medical practices. For instance, it expanded into Will County last fall by acquiring a Joliet-based doctors group. In November it announced plans to buy Pronger Smith MedicalCare, which has more than 60 doctors across 20 specialties in the southwest suburbs.
The new money, which also includes a bank loan, went to a subsidiary of DuPage Medical called Midwest Physician Administrative Services. It will be used to buy doctors’ practices and open additional offices for immediate care and outpatient surgery centers, for example. Plans also include investing more heavily in data analytics and programs to better manage patients’ health, services the subsidiary sells. University of Chicago Medicine and Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare are among its clients.
