KKR Seals Deal to Buy Air Medical Group for USD 2 Billion

KKR (New York, NY, USA) have agreed to acquire Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH; Lewisville, TX, USA), a leading provider of air ambulance services, in a deal valued at USD two billion, including debt.

AMGH is the largest independent provider of air medical services in the world, operating through three subsidiaries, Air Evac Lifeteam, Med-Trans Corporation, and EagleMed, which collaborate with leading hospital systems, medical centers and emergency medical service (EMS) agencies worldwide. Air Evac Lifeteam (West Plains, MO, USA) provides air ambulance services to rural communities across 14 US states. It operates 100+ Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopters (the world’s largest fleet), and has flown more than 200,000 critical care patients since founding.

Med-Trans (Dallas, TX, USA) focus on establishing partnerships with hospital systems, medical centers, and EMS agencies through 20 programs. It operates from 36 bases across 15 states, operating over 40 Bell 407 and EC 135 helicopters. EagleMed (Wichita, KS, USA) currently operates 16 community-based locations across three states, utilizing a fleet of over 20 Eurocopter helicopters and Hawker Beechcraft airplanes.

“Air Medical provides a vital service in the health care market, enabling patients to get the care they need as quickly as necessary. We are proud to support the company in its life-saving mission,” said Jim Momtazee, head of KKR's healthcare investing team. “Having followed Air Medical for several years, we believe that the company is poised for service expansion, and we look forward to partnering with management on this next phase of its evolution.”

“We are fortunate to partner with an investor that shares our vision. We've been blessed to have partnered with Bain Capital who supported our spiritual mission of timely service in people's critical time of need,” said Fred Buttrell, CEO of Air Medical. “We believe that our partnership with KKR will propel us to new heights in our positioning in the market. We look forward to working with KKR to continue providing lifesaving services to our patients.”

KKR, a global investment firm with multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and hedge funds, bought AMGH from affiliates of Bain Capital (Boston, MA, USA) and Brockway Moran & Partners (Boca Raton, FL, USA). In addition to its investments in health care companies such as HCA, KKR has experience working with other helicopter companies, including a current investment in Weststar Aviation and former investment in Avincis Group.

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