Coker Capital Securities Research
Advisory Approach
Coker Capital Securities is a premier healthcare-focused M&A advisory firm that was founded in 2009 as Coker Capital Advisors and acquired by Fifth Third Securities in 2018. The firm operates with a singular thesis: healthcare M&A requires specialized industry expertise that generalist investment banks cannot replicate. Their sweet spot is lower middle market healthcare services companies where clinical complexity, regulatory dynamics, and reimbursement models create valuation challenges that demand sector-specific knowledge.
The firm's leadership team brings 100+ years of combined healthcare transaction experience and had executed transactions with an aggregate value exceeding $65 billion as of the 2018 acquisition. Coker Capital's concentrated expertise in the complex healthcare industry differentiates it from boutique firms that dabble across sectors.
Sector Focus
Coker Capital Securities maintains an exclusive healthcare focus. The firm's practice areas include behavioral health, physician services (dermatology, physical therapy), healthcare staffing, and outpatient services. Within behavioral health, the team has deep experience in addiction treatment, mental health services, and co-occurring disorder programs. In physician services, they have advised on transactions involving dermatology platforms, physical therapy practices, and multi-specialty physician groups.
The firm's healthcare staffing expertise spans travel nursing, per-diem nursing, temporary-to-permanent placement, and allied health staffing. This breadth of subsector exposure enables Coker Capital to bring relevant transaction precedents and buyer insights to every engagement, regardless of the specific healthcare services niche.
Deal Track Record
Coker Capital Securities has completed numerous significant transactions across the healthcare services landscape:
Recent Representative Transactions:
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Prime Time Healthcare (2022): Exclusive financial advisor to this Omaha-based healthcare staffing company in its sale to One Equity Partners. Prime Time provides travel nursing, per-diem nursing, and permanent placement services to approximately 8,500 healthcare facilities across all 50 U.S. states.
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APT Healthcare (2022): Sell-side investment banking advisor to this outpatient physical therapy platform in its strategic growth investment from York Private Equity. APT Healthcare operates nearly 60 clinics across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., making it one of the largest outpatient PT platforms in the Mid-Atlantic.
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Anne Arundel Dermatology Management (2018): Exclusive financial advisor to this Maryland-based dermatology platform in a recapitalization transaction with New MainStream Capital and Pantheon. ADM is the largest provider of dermatology services in Maryland with 33 locations and 76 providers across Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee.
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Constellation Behavioral Health (2016): Exclusive financial advisor to this California-based behavioral health treatment provider in its sale to New MainStream Capital. CBH operates specialized treatment facilities for addiction, mental health, and co-occurring disorders, including the Alta Mira and Bridges to Recovery programs.
These transactions demonstrate the firm's ability to represent complex healthcare services businesses with distinct clinical models, regulatory considerations, and growth dynamics. The firm has represented sellers in transactions with leading private equity buyers including One Equity Partners, New MainStream Capital, York Private Equity, and Pantheon.
Aggregate Transaction Volume: As of 2018, the founding team had executed transactions with an aggregate value exceeding $65 billion. This total includes both standalone Coker Capital transactions and deals completed post-acquisition as part of Fifth Third Securities' healthcare platform.
Process & Fee Structure
Coker Capital Securities runs institutional-quality sell-side processes tailored to healthcare services companies. Their approach emphasizes:
- Buyer Identification: Leveraging deep relationships with healthcare-focused private equity firms and strategic acquirers
- Clinical due diligence support: Helping buyers understand quality metrics, clinical outcomes, and regulatory compliance
- Reimbursement expertise: Articulating the sustainability and growth potential of revenue streams
- Regulatory navigation: Guiding buyers through CMS conditions of participation, state licensing requirements, and certificate of need considerations
Typical fee structures follow middle market investment banking conventions: monthly retainers credited against success fees calculated as a percentage of transaction value. The firm requires exclusivity and typically targets engagements with enterprise values of $20 million and above. Process timelines generally range from 6 to 12 months from engagement to close, depending on market conditions and seller readiness.
Buyer Network
Coker Capital Securities maintains relationships with 500+ active healthcare-focused buyers, including:
Private Equity Firms: One Equity Partners, New MainStream Capital, York Private Equity, Pantheon, Lindsay Goldberg, and numerous other middle market healthcare specialists.
Strategic Buyers: Regional health systems, national physician practice platforms, and public healthcare services companies.
The firm's buyer relationships are concentrated in healthcare services, with particular strength in behavioral health, physician services, and healthcare staffing buyers. This focused network enables more targeted outreach and higher conversion rates than generalist firms relying on broad PE databases.
Competitive Positioning
Coker Capital Securities differentiates from other middle market M&A advisors through:
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Pure Healthcare Focus: 100% of transactions are in healthcare services, enabling deeper sector expertise than diversified boutiques
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Clinical Literacy: Team members understand clinical quality metrics, value-based care models, and healthcare regulatory frameworks at a level that generalist bankers cannot match
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Post-Acquisition Scale: Operating as a division of Fifth Third Securities provides deal capacity, balance sheet support, and geographic reach that standalone boutiques cannot offer
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Operating Partner Access: Connections to healthcare operating partners and consultants who can validate clinical quality and operational excellence to buyers
Not a Fit If
Coker Capital Securities typically declines:
- Businesses below $10M-$20M TEV (where investment banking fees are disproportionate to transaction value)
- Non-healthcare businesses (the firm's value proposition is sector-specific)
- Highly distressed situations requiring turnaround expertise
- Transactions where regulatory or litigation issues create unacceptable risk
Team
The firm was founded by five Managing Directors with deep healthcare M&A experience:
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Dan Davidson: Co-founder, over 25 years of healthcare transaction experience. Founded Galen Mental Health with Lindsay Goldberg. Currently Managing Director at Northborne Partners (2025). U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
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James Heidbreder: Managing Director with deep healthcare transaction experience. Continue at Fifth Third Securities post-acquisition.
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Bo Hinton: Managing Director. Joined Raymond James in 2023 to expand their healthcare investment banking practice.
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John Reiboldt: Founding partner. Currently Chief Development Officer at Acuvance.
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McNeill Wester: Managing Director. Joined Raymond James in 2023 alongside Bo Hinton.
The founding team's 100+ years of combined healthcare transaction experience established Coker Capital as a premier healthcare M&A boutique. Post-acquisition, the team has been expanded with additional healthcare bankers at Fifth Third Securities.
Geographic Coverage
Coker Capital Securities serves clients throughout the United States from its offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, and New York (via Fifth Third Securities). The firm has represented healthcare services companies headquartered in California, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Nebraska, and numerous other states. While the firm has particular strength in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, its national footprint enables representation of healthcare businesses anywhere in the U.S.
Post-Acquisition Integration
Since the 2018 acquisition by Fifth Third Securities, Coker Capital has operated as a dedicated healthcare M&A group within Fifth Third's Corporate and Investment Banking division. This integration has provided Coker Capital with:
- Access to Fifth Third's balance sheet for financing commitments
- Expanded deal team capacity for larger transactions
- Additional office locations and banking products
- Enhanced compliance and regulatory infrastructure
The Coker Capital brand and healthcare specialization have been preserved within Fifth Third, allowing the firm to maintain its focused value proposition while leveraging fifth Third's institutional resources. Clients benefit from both specialized healthcare expertise and the capabilities of a top 20 commercial bank.
Current Status
As of 2025, Coker Capital continues to operate as the dedicated healthcare M&A advisory practice within Fifth Third Securities. While several founding partners have moved to other firms (Dan Davidson to Northborne Partners, Bo Hinton and McNeill Wester to Raymond James), the healthcare M&A practice at Fifth Third Securities remains active with a dedicated team focused on middle market healthcare services transactions.