Private equity enters Ohio healthcare with $515M Summa acquisition

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The $515 million sale of Akron-based Summa Health to the for-profit Health Assurance Transformation Co. (HATCo) is now complete, marking a significant shift in the Northeast Ohio healthcare landscape. The sale makes Summa the region’s only major for-profit hospitalThe completion of the $515 million deal makes Summa Health a wholly owned subsidiary of Health Assurance Transformation Co. (HATCo), a venture owned by the capital firm General Catalyst. This transaction transforms Summa into the sole for-profit major hospital system in Northeast Ohio. Governed independently from both Summa and HATCo, the foundation is tasked with improving healthcare access across five counties and ensuring the new for-profit entity fulfills its community obligations. The acquisition reflects a controversial national trendThe article places the Summa sale within the growing, and often criticized, trend of private equity takeovers of U.S. hospitals.