Angela Humphreys and Ryan Thomas to Lead Bass, Berry & Sims’ Healthcare Private Equity and Private Equity Teams

9/17/19

Angela Humphreys and Ryan Thomas

Bass, Berry & Sims is pleased to announce new leadership of its Healthcare Private Equity and Private Equity Teams, which have provided counsel in hundreds of private equity transactions involving healthcare providers and businesses across a diverse array of industries. Angela Humphreys and Ryan Thomas have been appointed as co-chairs of the Healthcare Private Equity Team. Thomas also will serve as chair of the firm’s general industry Private Equity Team.

“Under Angela’s and Ryan’s leadership, the group will continue to grow our robust relationships with middle market private equity firms by not only getting deals done but also by helping to source deals and create connections to targets, management teams and potential operating partners,” said Todd Rolapp, managing partner of Bass, Berry & Sims. “Our private equity clients are focused on building long-term values in their investments and we are focused on partnering with them to make that happen. Appointing Angela and Ryan to further our national private equity practice was an easy decision given their extensive list of private equity transactions, clients and networks, as well as their business minded, creative and pragmatic approach to deal making.”

Under their leadership, the firm will continue to bring together attorneys experienced in complex private equity transactions across numerous disciplines (including healthcare regulatory, tax, commercial finance, executive compensation and intellectual property). The interdisciplinary approach staffs the team with experience to address the unique legal needs that arise at different stages throughout the lifecycle of an investment and an individual transaction, which allows more comprehensive legal coverage for private equity buyers and sellers and their portfolio companies.

“As one of the nation’s largest healthcare firms, we are uniquely positioned to guide clients through all of the complex issues that arise at each stage of a private equity transaction, including intricate regulatory challenges involving healthcare providers,” said Rolapp. “We are a sought-after law firm by private equity firms across the country because we have highly experienced attorneys who bring to bear an incredible level of sophistication without the big price tag commensurate with many of our peers. We are proud of the talent and agility our attorneys deliver with respect to the responsiveness and quality that private equity firms demand.”

Angela Humphreys

As co-chair of the Healthcare Private Equity Team and chair of the firm’s nationally ranked Healthcare Practice, Humphreys brings over two decades of experience counseling national healthcare organizations through hundreds of transactions. During the last 23 years, she has led deals with a combined value exceeding $60 billion and has provided clients with creative solutions to the complex operational and regulatory issues in the healthcare industry.

Humphreys’ clients include private equity firms and their portfolio companies, publicly traded companies and nonprofit institutions. In 2018, Humphreys was named by Law360 as Health Law MVP of the year. She has also been ranked by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America©, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine, Becker’s ASC Review and more. Humphreys is a fellow of the Nashville Health Care Council and past director of Leadership Health Care. She serves as chair of the Health Law and Life Sciences Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Ryan Thomas

As chair of the Private Equity Team and co-chair of the Healthcare Private Equity Team, Thomas serves as counsel to national companies and private equity firms on M&A, growth equity and securities matters. He focuses on middle market M&A transactions and in his 20 years of practice has closed more than $50 billion in M&A transactions, and more than $60 billion in overall transactions, including both the largest domestic leveraged buyout and the largest private equity-backed IPO at the time. Thomas focuses his practice on public and private transactions within the healthcare, media, retail, government services, life sciences and technology industries.

Thomas’ work has been recognized in The M&A Advisor’s M&A Deal of the Year and 40 under 40 awards and he has earned a ranking in the Corporate/M&A category by Chambers USA. Thomas also is active in ACG and the leadership of the American Bar Association’s M&A and Business Law Committees and has been quoted on M&A and private equity matters in leading national media including The Wall Street Journal Pro Private Equity, TheStreet.com, GlobeSt.com, Associated Press, Bloomberg News and more.

Private Equity Team

The firm’s Private Equity Team has a reputation representing funds, lenders, investment banks, financial advisors, and portfolio companies in buy and sell side and growth equity transactions nationally. The team has served as counsel in hundreds of private equity-backed deals across many industries, including financial services, food and beverage, manufacturing, healthcare, media, technology, consumer products and retail.

Leveraging the firm’s deep roster of attorneys from diverse legal backgrounds, the Private Equity Team represents buyers and sellers with a multidisciplinary approach to identifying legal solutions at each stage of a deal by leveraging the firm’s commercial, tax, intellectual property, corporate, and labor and employment practices. The team is supported by many attorneys in our Corporate & Securities Practice Group, which has been recognized by the Legal 500 United States Guide as a recommended firm for M&A – Middle Market and by Chambers USA which has ranked the firm’s Corporate/M&A practice in the highest tier in Tennessee for 17 consecutive years. Last month, the firm was announced as a finalist in the 2019 M&A Advisor Awards in two separate private equity categories: “Private Equity Deal of the Year ($100MM-$250MM)” and “Private Equity Deal of the Year (Over $1B).”

Healthcare Private Equity Team

The Healthcare Private Equity Team has advised in over 150 private equity transactions in the healthcare industry over the past two years, including The M&A Advisor’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Deal of the Year in 2018 for transactions valued between $100 million and $1 billion. In addition, three separate deals were named as a finalist for the 2019 M&A Advisor Awards in the “Healthcare and Life Sciences Deal of the Year ($100MM-$1B)” category. As the fourth largest healthcare law firm in the U.S. (as ranked by American Health Lawyers Association in 2019), Bass, Berry & Sims has long been recognized as a staple law firm for private equity funds investing in healthcare.

The firm has been nationally ranked as a top healthcare firm by Chambers USA for four consecutive years. The Healthcare Private Equity Team is well-versed in handling transactions and the involved regulatory issues in healthcare sectors across the industry, including hospitals and health systems, surgery centers, life sciences, post-acute care, specialty pharmacy, healthcare information technology, healthcare REITS, managed care, behavioral, population health management, telehealth and physician practice management, anesthesia, cardiology, dental, emergency department, fertility, dermatology, gastroenterology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, radiology, urgent care, urology and more.

About Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

With nearly 300 attorneys representing numerous publicly traded companies, Fortune 500 businesses and nonprofits, Bass, Berry & Sims has been involved in some of the largest and most significant business transactions, investigations and litigation matters in the country. Our attorneys work seamlessly across substantive practice disciplines, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective service and business-focused solutions. For more information, visit www.bassberry.com.

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