FORE, which began marketing its AuthPal solution in 2014, first retained ST Advisors in early 2015 for a Strategic Assessment session, which included a financial review, along with a holistic discussion of competitors, financing options, and potential acquirers.

Seeing the value we could bring to an ongoing partnership, FORE and ST Advisors subsequently formalized a retained advisory relationship. Over the course of the 15-month engagement, ST Advisors assisted FORE’s co-founders with evaluating potential strategic investors, assessing emerging competitive threats, and meeting potential strategic partners. ST Advisors accompanied FORE’s CEO to an industry trade show; recruited a marketing consultant to further refine FORE’s message and value proposition; and, of course, provided ongoing advice and strategic coaching.

In January 2016, we introduced FORE to Availity, the nation’s largest real-time health information network, with over $200 million in revenues. Given the importance of electronic prior authorizations to Availity’s development agenda, the company’s initial interest in partnering with FORE was rapidly overtaken by its desire to acquire them. Over the next several months, ST Advisors worked with both parties to reach a mutually agreeable acquisition structure.

With our decades of healthcare industry experience, ST Advisors already had a strong relationship with Availity’s senior leadership team. As the transaction progressed from an expression of interest to an executed letter of intent, and from due diligence to closing, the trust we had engendered on both sides put ST Advisors in a unique position, allowing us to work through several sticking point issues and ultimately leading to a mutually beneficial transaction and a successful close.