Provista, LLC Acquires Summa Purchasing Group, LLC

IRVING, Texas, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Provista, LLC announced that it has acquired Summa Purchasing Group, LLC, bringing together two of the strongest supply chain improvement companies in the rapidly growing education and corporate markets. Both Provista and Summa strategically assist their customers with building and managing high-performing supply chain improvement programs. Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Summa, a nationally recognized leader in the education market, specializes in cost reduction for education institutions. Upon completing this transaction, the combined company will serve nearly 16,000 school districts, early learning centers and colleges and universities nationwide.

"Our combined leadership and experience in the education and corporate sectors will help us better serve our customers and achieve our strategic growth goals," said Dan Thomas , Provista President and CEO. "Summa, under the leadership of its founders Stephen Hull and Michael Brion , has become the leader in the education market."

Both Hull and Brion will join the Provista senior management team and will be responsible for leading the education and corporate markets for Provista.  They, along with a talented team of sales and operations employees from both Provista and Summa, will lead initiatives to drive down cost and deliver supply chain improvement programs to thousands of education and corporate customers.

"We share similar philosophies in our approach to supply chain improvement and how we work with our customers," said Hull. "This acquisition will allow both companies to benefit from each other's expertise and success."

About Provista
Based in Irving, Texas Provista is a leading supply chain improvement company dedicated to strengthening financial and operational performance for its 70000 sites in the health care, education, hospitality, and corporate markets nationwide. Together Provista and its supply contracting company Novation leverage nearly $40 billion in annual purchases to provide members with the most competitive extensive portfolio of products services and solutions available. Provista is owned by VHA Inc.

Contact: Kathryn Goldstein
KGOLDSTE@provistaco.com
Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications
972.581.5529

SOURCE Provista