Nashville-based Pharos Capital Group has acquired an Illinois outsourcing company that specializes in providing surgical tools and tech services to ophthalmologists.
Pharos will have a majority stake in Effingham-based Vantage Outsourcing, which offers cataract surgery equipment, instrumentation, disposables and scheduling and surgery technology platforms in 20 states, largely in rural locations throughout the Midwest and South. The company’s CEO, Ann Deters, and president, Chris Swing, will both retain a minority stake, according to a press release. Deters is stepping down as CEO but will continue as a member of the board of directors.
Pharos has appointed local health tech veteran Bradley Hill to serve as chief executive officer, with plans to invest in Vantage’s tech services division to build out a broad surgical support platform through an aggressive growth strategy that includes future acquisitions.
A CPA, with more than 25 years of executive experience in the health tech and SaaS markets, Hill joins the team after serving as Chief Commercial Officer of Austin-based prescription benefits platform RazorMetrics. Prior to that, he was the President of revenue cycle management company Peak Health Solutions and Chief Revenue Officer of Dallas-based RemitDATA.
The investment in Vantage is the first from Pharos™ latest fund, Pharos Capital Partners IV, alongside a parallel fund, Pharos Capital Partners IV-A, which commits capital to rural businesses.
“Pharos has identified surgical support services for ophthalmology and other surgical specialties as a key area of interest for investment, with attractive demographic trends and a growing opportunity to improve outcomes for both patients and providers,” Joel Goldberg, a Partner at Pharos, said in the release. “There is a marked need for such services in rural areas, where long travel distances are an obstacle and access to care is often insufficient. We are excited to work with Vantage, which supports providers and offers vital services in areas that would otherwise go unserved.”