OSE_1211_part1_Layout 1 11/1/12 8:57 AM Page 27
BUSINESS ADVISOR
Goran Dragolovic, MBA
A Tale of 2 ASCs Merging
Friendly foes hope a single, stronger center emerges from union.
T
he Surgery
Center of the
Pacific (SCP)
and the Surgery
Center of Santa
Monica (SCSM) sit a
half-mile apart from
Hospital/ASC mergers are
the more common model,
but ASC/ASC mergers
deserve a look if you're in a
competitive market where
supply is beginning to
exceed demand.
one other in Southern
California. Each has
its own group of
physician-owners and
its own corporate
partner. And they
want to merge by
year's end. Talk about an unlikely scenario.
The plan is for the ASCs to combine operations under the SCP name,
at the SCSM facility, by the end of the year. Surgical Care Affiliates and
Sovereign Healthcare, the centers' respective management companies,
are the in-laws in this marriage. They'll work together to co-manage the
new venture.
The physicians prompted the initial dialogue. Both centers are affiliated with prominent physician groups with impactful clinical reputaN O V E M B E R 2012 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
2 7
