Charterhouse Group, Highlander Partners and MTS Health Investors Announce the $260 Million Sale of Portfolio Company Chamberlin Edmonds to Emdeon

NEW YORK, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Charterhouse Group, Inc. ("Charterhouse") a New York-based private equity firm, together with Highlander Partners ("Highlander"), a Dallas-based investment firm, and MTS Health Investors ("MTS"), a healthcare private equity firm, announced today that Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates, Inc., one of their portfolio companies, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a subsidiary of Emdeon Inc. (NYSE: EM), for $260 million in cash.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Chamberlin Edmonds is a leading provider of government program eligibility and enrollment services to over 200 acute care facilities in 30 states. Chamberlin Edmonds' technology-enabled services assist hospitals in lowering the incidence of uncompensated care, reducing bad-debt expense and increasing overall cash flow. Chamberlin Edmonds has a 24-year track record of patient advocacy and guiding uninsured patients through the complex processes associated with securing reimbursement from Medicaid, Social Security Disability, state disability, charity care and other community benefit programs.

Emdeon Inc. is a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions. The transaction will be financed through the use of unrestricted cash and borrowings under an amendment to Emdeon's existing credit facility that will be established simultaneously with the closing of the transaction. In connection with the credit facility amendment, Emdeon has entered into an incremental $100 million financing commitment with Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Under the investors' ownership, the Company experienced rapid organic growth through the expansion of its hospital customer base and the launching of complementary service offerings. In addition, the Company implemented process and technology initiatives, which served to automate the process of populating an uninsured patient's information, resulting in higher approval rates, lower costs per submitted application and greater cash recovery for its customers.

The sale transaction exemplifies the investor group's approach of partnering with experienced, entrepreneurial management teams and executing well-defined growth strategies while using a prudent amount of debt. C. Taylor Cole, Jr., Managing Director at Charterhouse, William F. Miller, III, Operating Partner at Highlander Partners, Curtis S. Lane, Senior Managing Director at MTS Health Investors and Christopher J. Garcia, Member of the Investor Group and Chairman of the Company, collectively commented, "Chamberlin Edmonds is another example of our consistent strategy of partnering with seasoned executives and providing the financial and strategic resources necessary to help companies realize accelerated, profitable growth. We would like to thank Ulrich and his team for all the hard work and dedication they exhibited in leading Chamberlin Edmonds over the past several years. We are confident that the management team will have continuing success with Emdeon."

"Chamberlin Edmonds has created a scalable technology-enabled service delivery platform that blends national reach and perspective with local delivery and knowledge," said T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, president and chief executive officer for Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates. "By joining Emdeon, we are significantly better positioned to offer the full suite of tools, technologies, services and expertise required to build an optimized eligibility process, from screening through enrollment and cash recovery, to hospitals nationwide."

For the six-months ended June 30, 2010, Chamberlin Edmonds' revenue was approximately $46.3 million. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration or early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. The Company was advised by Robert W. Baird & Co. and Bryan Cave LLP. Charterhouse was advised by Proskauer Rose LLP.

About Chamberlin Edmonds

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Chamberlin Edmonds serves as patient advocates and provides custom-tailored eligibility services to hospitals nationwide. Chamberlin Edmonds comprehensive services examine a wide spectrum of uninsured and underinsured patients, including inpatient, outpatient and emergency department cases. The advanced technology of its proprietary web-based system is built on the experience and expertise of some of the most qualified eligibility and enrollment professionals in the industry – its people. Chamberlin Edmonds has more than 24 years of experience in eligibility services, with eight regional offices in the U.S. Please visit www.chamberlinedmonds.com to learn more.

About Emdeon

Emdeon is a leading provider of revenue and payment cycle management solutions, connecting payers, providers and patients in the U.S. healthcare system. Emdeon's product and service offerings integrate and automate key business and administrative functions of its payer and provider customers throughout the patient encounter. Through the use of Emdeon's comprehensive suite of products and services, which are designed to easily integrate with existing technology infrastructures, customers are able to improve efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow and more efficiently manage the complex revenue and payment cycle process. For more information, visit www.emdeon.com.

About Charterhouse Group

Charterhouse Group, Inc. is a private equity firm with almost four decades of experience in working with Entrepreneurs and building leading middle-market companies. Established in 1973, Charterhouse has invested in excess of $2.0 billion in equity and established over 100 platform companies with a focus in the Healthcare Services, Business Services and Consumer Products and Services sectors. For more information on Charterhouse, please visit www.charterhousegroup.com.

About Highlander

Highlander Partners, L.P. is an investment firm based in Dallas, Texas that manages assets across a variety of investment types with a significant portion of its funds allocated for direct private equity investments. Highlander Partners primarily focuses on healthcare investments, but also has expertise in basic manufacturing, performance chemicals, food ingredients and other sectors.

About MTS

MTS Health Investors, LLC, located in New York, is a healthcare private equity firm that makes equity investments in the buyout, recapitalization or growth financing of healthcare operating companies. MTS focuses on businesses that operate in services sectors of the healthcare industry - managed care/health insurance, providers of healthcare services, distributors of medical products and providers of outsourced services to the healthcare industry. MTS invests in profitable companies that deliver cost-effective services and have the ability to gain market share in industry segments that are typically large, growing, fragmented and poised for consolidation. For further information, please visit www.mtshealthinvestors.com.

SOURCE Charterhouse Group, Inc.