Herndon telehealth company to be acquired

Herndon-based acute care telemedicine provider SOC Telemed Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired and taken private by California-based health care investment firm Patient Square Capital, it announced Thursday.

SOC Telemed stockholders will receive $3 in cash per share, which represents a 366.1% premium over SOC Telemed’s closing share price on Wednesday, the last full trading day prior to the transaction announcement. As of 4:52 p.m. Thursday, shares were trading for $2.82.

Shareholders will vote to approve the transaction in a special meeting. Stockholders collectively holding about 39% of the outstanding shares of common stock have entered into an agreement to vote their shares in favor of the transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

SOC Telemed CEO Dr. Chris Gallagher will continue to lead the company following the transaction’s close. Gallagher became CEO in September 2021 and was previously co-founder and CEO of Access Physicians, which SOC Telemed acquired in March 2021.

“Today’s announcement validates SOC Telemed’s market-leading technology-enabled clinical services platform for acute care telemedicine, which we have deployed across more than 1,000 facilities nationwide,” Gallagher said in a statement. “The last several years have revealed the critical ways that technology can expand access to care, improve clinician efficiency and enable more cost-effective care delivery. … We believe that as a private company, with the expertise and support of the team at Patient Square Capital, SOC Telemed will be best positioned to meet the growing needs of patients, physicians and our hospital partners.”

The agreement includes a 30-day “go-shop” period that allows the SOC Telemed Board of Directors and its advisers to solicit and consider alternative offers from third parties.

Founded in 2004, SOC Telemed operates the Telemed IQ platform for virtual patient care. It reported revenues of almost $58 million in 2020.