Crestview Partners puts surgical facilities operator Symbion for sale: report

US-based  private equity firm Crestview Partners, owner of  surgical facilities operator Symbion Inc, for sale, in a deal that may fetch  more than $800 million, Reuters yesterday reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Crestview Partners, which had acquired Tennessee-based Symbion in 2007 for $637 million, has hired Morgan Stanley to conduct the sale process, the report said.

Symbion was formed through the merger of Ambulatory Resource Centres, an owner and operator of ambulatory surgery facilities, and UniPhy, an operator of multi-specialty clinics, independent practice associations and related outpatient services.

It is a leading operator of approximately 57 short-stay surgical facilities across 24 states in the US.

Through its ambulatory surgery centres and surgical hospitals, Symbion provides patients with surgical services across a number of specialties, including orthopedics, gynecology, general surgery, ear, nose and throat, pain management, gastroenterology, plastic surgery, and ophthalmology.

The company's surgical hospitals also offer diagnostic imaging, pharmacy, laboratory, obstetrics, physical therapy, and wound care services.

Apart from its owned and operated 56 surgical facilities, it also has 49 ambulatory surgery centres and 6 surgical hospitals, and 8 additional managed ambulatory surgery centres.

The company has around $80 million in 2013 EBITDA and could fetch more than 10 times in a sale, the report added.