Fitch Ratings placed Athenahealth on rating watch negative following the Watertown, Mass.-based EHR vendor’s recent agreement to be acquired by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital. The credit rating agency said it expects a material increase in debt to fund the $17 billion transactions and would look to resolve the rating watch negative after the deal’s financing terms close. Athenahealth on Nov. 22 announced its agreement to be jointly acquired by Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital. Private equity firms Veritas Capital and Elliott Investment Management bought Athenahealth in February 2019 for $5.7 billion.

Source: Becker’s Hospitalreview