WELL Technologies creates WELLSTAR

VANCOUVER – WELL Health Technologies Corp., a digital healthcare company focused on improving health outcomes by leveraging technology, is pleased to announce the creation of WELLSTAR Technologies Corp. WELLSTAR is a reorganization of WELL’s established WELL Provider Solutions Group, whose mission is to be the leading provider of healthcare technology solutions in Canada.

WELLSTAR has been funded by way of a $50.4 million preferred share investment supported by three of Canada’s most prominent fund investors: Mawer Investment Management Ltd.; Edgepoint Wealth Management Inc.; and PenderFund Capital Management Ltd.

Concurrent with the financing, WELLSTAR closed two transactions to acquire complementary healthcare focused technology companies that are expected to add over $15 million in annualized revenue. These acquisitions are expected to bring WELLSTAR’s revenue to over $70 million for 2025.

WELL is aiming to execute a ‘spinout’ of WELLSTAR by the end of 2025. By separating WELLSTAR from WELL’s clinical operations, investors have the opportunity to directly invest in a high-growth healthcare technology company with a robust margin profile and strong expansion prospects.

“A pure-play SaaS and technology leader or ‘star’ is born. WELLSTAR is a high-performance company and disciplined capital allocator in healthcare SaaS,” said Hamed Shahbazi (pictured), founder and CEO of WELL. “Today’s announcement and the incredible support we have received from some of Canada’s most esteemed technology investors demonstrates what we have been saying for some time now, which is that WELL’s technology platform is an exciting growth business which is set up to accelerate growth and drive higher margins for WELL on a consolidated basis. This strategic move reflects WELL’s commitment to unlocking shareholder value by surfacing the significant growth and market potential of its technology segment.”

About WELLSTAR
WELLSTAR (WELLSTAR.health) empowers healthcare providers with innovative technology and services to enhance patient care and operational efficiency. WELLSTAR offers a comprehensive suite of solutions tailored to meet the needs of healthcare providers, including: Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software for primary care and specialist providers; Digital Health Apps including OceanMD and a suite of AI automation solutions, as well as the apps.health marketplace; and Medical billing and back-office solutions including revenue cycle management (RCM) and technology solutions. WELLSTAR’s comprehensive range of products and solutions are designed to streamline care delivery, integrate fragmented healthcare systems, reduce provider burnout, and improve patient healthcare experiences and outcomes. WELLSTAR serves over 37,000 healthcare providers across Canada, representing over one-third of all healthcare providers in the country who utilize at least one of WELLSTAR’s products, underscoring its extensive reach and trusted reputation in the industry. WELLSTAR stands out as a leader in Canada’s healthcare technology landscape as the third-largest provider of EMR solutions in the country and holds the country’s top position for e-referrals, digital health apps, and medical billing and RCM solutions, the company said. WELLSTAR plans to continue to be active in M&A and has a deep pipeline of targets in the EMR, digital apps, billing, and clinical workflow technology solutions segments. WELLSTAR plans to deploy capital in an accretive manner while expanding the business and maintaining ‘Rule of 40’ metrics. As the majority and controlling shareholder of WELLSTAR, WELL will continue to play a critical role in supporting WELLSTAR’s strategic initiatives. The operational relationship between WELL and WELLSTAR will remain unchanged, with the reorganization of WPS into WELLSTAR creating a more robust platform that will further enhance the capabilities and performance of WELL’s Canadian clinics network. This will enable WELL to better support its clinical operations while benefiting from the growth and market potential of WELLSTAR’s technology business.

Management and governance of WELLSTAR
WELLSTAR will be led by Amir Javidan as CEO, a highly experienced technology operator who previously held executive roles at Avigilon and TIO Networks. Amir will be supported by Darren Hoegler as WELLSTAR’s chief financial officer. Darren previously served in executive and senior level finance positions with MDA, Zymeworks, and Teekay. Darren joined WELL as of May 2022 and was appointed WELL’s SVP Finance and chief accounting officer as of October 2023. WELLSTAR’s management team will be supported by the WELLSTAR board of directors which includes Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and CEO of WELL, who will also act as chairman of WELLSTAR, alongside Amir Javidan and Ammar Shah, vice president of Corporate Development and Strategy at WELL. Two additional board members are expected to be appointed in the near future, including an independent director selected by WELL and an independent director nominee selected by Mawer. This leadership team brings a breadth of expertise and a shared vision to address the challenges and opportunities within the healthcare landscape.

Amir Javidan, CEO of WELLSTAR commented, “We are thrilled to embark on this next chapter as a purposeful and disciplined SaaS and services business which enables us to focus more intensely on transforming healthcare through innovative technology. With this transaction, we have a strong balance sheet and direct access to capital markets, enabling us to accelerate our acquisition growth strategy and deliver even greater value to healthcare providers and our shareholders. We are also very happy and proud to welcome over 80 new team members from the two healthcare software and technology tuck-ins. One company is a well-respected regional EMR and the other is a purely healthcare focused technology services company. Together, these two companies support over 1,500 healthcare clinics and physicians while maintaining high gross margins with subscription-like recurring revenues.”