Earlier this month, private equity firm Stonepeak acquired Akumin and all its common shares following court approval of Akumin’s restructuring plans for going private, which included the company declaring bankruptcy.

The transaction was completed on February 6, with Stonepeak investing $130 million into the company as a capital contribution. Akumin’s common shareholders received a total of $25 million in cash and certain contingent value rights as part of their shares.

As part of its prepacked Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the company and its subsidiaries said the transaction eliminates $470 million in debt, with the loan balance converted into common shares of Akumin stock that are now owned by Stonepeak. Akumin voluntarily delisted its common stock from the Toronto Stock Exchange on February 1, allowing existing common stockholders to convert their ownership interest in a company into cash or liquid assets.

"This transaction will position us to better execute on our strategic plan to become the outpatient partner of choice for hospitals and health systems and continue to deliver unparalleled patient experiences and outcomes," said Akumin on its website.

Based in Plantation, Florida, Akumin provides diagnostic imaging services to about 1,000 hospitals and health systems in 48 states, including MR, CT, X-ray, ultrasound, mammography, nuclear medicine, interventional radiology, and more.

The company announced the transaction back in October after spending most of the year watching its stock plummet more than 80% and accumulating significant debt from its $820 million acquisition of Alliance Healthcare Services.

It also was the target of a ransomware attack that forced it to shut down its computer system, leaving it unable to perform scans at its fixed-site locations.

The Nasdaq suspended trading of the company’s common stock on October 26 due to its failure to maintain a minimum of $2.5 million in stockholder’s equity, a listing requirement. Its stock’s closing bid price was also below $1 for 30 days, another violation.

Following the company’s announcement of going private, stocks shot up 145% on October 23, but Akumin told investors in its own SEC filing not to trade its stock during the bankruptcy process, as doing so would be seen as “highly speculative” and put it at substantial risk.

The company was the second large radiology provider to file for bankruptcy in 2023 following Envision Healthcare, which filed in May and was approved to split into two companies as part of its own restructuring agreement.

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