SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc., a leading provider of disease management programs and services in the nation, announced today that it recently completed $19 million in senior and subordinated debt financing consisting of a $12 million term loan with ORIX Venture Finance, LLC (“ORIX”) and a $7 million credit facility with Comerica Bank (“Comerica”). ORIX and Comerica join existing equity investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Intel Corporation, J. and W. Seligman & Co., Sightline Partners, Pacific Venture Group, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Siemens. The capital will be used to fund LifeMasters’ rapid growth and expansion plans, including the opening of an additional call center in San Antonio, Texas planned for early in the second quarter of this year.
“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to expand our existing, long-term relationship with Comerica and our new relationship with ORIX. LifeMasters’ knowledge and maturity in the disease management industry positioned us extremely well to raise this growth capital with minimal dilution to our existing shareholders,” said Debra L. Morris, LifeMasters’ Chief Financial Officer. “This financing is further validation of LifeMasters’ growing business success and will provide us with the capital required to enable to continue our work toward helping individuals with chronic illnesses achieve and maintain optimal health.”
LifeMasters is one of the largest disease management companies in the nation, with a fast-growing client base comprised of commercial health plans, employers, public and private retirement systems, and government programs including Medicare and Medicaid. In December, LifeMasters announced it had been selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide disease management services to approximately 20,000 Medicare beneficiaries with chronic illnesses in the State of Oklahoma as part of the government’s Chronic Care Improvement Program authorized by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. LifeMasters will also partner with Aetna in the delivery of a similar program to eligible Medicare beneficiaries in the Chicago area.
LifeMasters’ award-winning disease management programs provide customized interventions that include targeted behavior change, coaching and support designed to help program participants stay healthy and avoid trips to the emergency room and preventable hospitalizations. Studies have shown that medical expenses incurred by individuals with chronic illness account for a disproportionate share of health care expenditures in this country.
“We are very impressed with the business that LifeMasters is building,” said Michael David, Managing Director of ORIX Venture Finance, LLC. “The company’s large and diverse customer base, comprehensive disease management programs, and world class management team gave us the confidence to invest in LifeMasters. This is a fine addition to our growing portfolio of healthcare companies.”
Bonnie Kehe, Senior Vice President and Manager in Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division said, “As a financial services provider to the technology and life sciences sectors, we are pleased to provide this credit facility to LifeMasters, which has been a customer of Comerica since 1999.”
About LifeMasters Supported SelfCare
LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc. is a leading provider of disease management programs and services that create health partnerships among individuals, their physicians and payors. Its mission is to empower individuals to achieve and maintain optimal health. The programs improve quality of care for people with chronic illnesses, reduce chronic-disease costs for payors and provide decision-support tools for physicians. LifeMasters offers programs for individuals with diabetes, congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma (all of which are fully accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)), hypertension, and musculoskeletal pain. LifeMasters’ programs are holistically focused and support clinical co-morbidities such as depression and facilitate lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation and weight loss. LifeMasters provides services to more than 350,000 people throughout the nation.
Founded in 1994 by a Harvard-trained physician, LifeMasters works with some of the nation’s leading health plans, employers, retirement systems and governmental organizations, including Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (Medicaid) and CMS. More information about LifeMasters can be found at http://www.lifemasters.com/ or by calling 1-800-760-9261.
About ORIX Venture Finance
ORIX Venture Finance, LLC, a subsidiary of ORIX USA Corporation, with offices in Silicon Valley, Hartford and New York, provides enterprise financing to mid-to-late-stage companies via acquisition and growth capital. The ORIX Venture Finance team consists of experienced finance professionals who understand the challenges growth companies face and structure flexible financing packages that meet their unique needs. For more information about ORIX Venture Finance, go to http://www.orixventurefinance.com/.
About Comerica Bank’s Technology and Life Sciences Division
Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division is one of the nation’s leading technology banking practices, offering a wide range of financial services tailored to corporate customers, entrepreneurs and professionals. Veteran bankers provide credit and financial services and products to young, growing, professionally backed technology and life sciences companies, as well as their more mature counterparts. The Technology and Life Sciences Division serves all major U.S. technology centers from offices coast-to-coast. Comerica is among the 20 largest banking companies in the nation, with $52 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2004.
CONTACT: Denise Apcar of LifeMasters, +1-650-829-6217, or dapcar@lifemasters.com.
LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc.
CONTACT: Denise Apcar of LifeMasters, +1-650-829-6217, ordapcar@lifemasters.com
Web site: http://www.lifemasters.com/