PFM digs deeper on healthcare with Melio & Co. acquisition

PFM acquired the not-for-profit healthcare specialty advisory firm Melio & Company in a move that deepens its advisory and consulting benches.

PFM's acquisition of Melio & Co. — launched in 2009 by public finance investment banker Mark Melio — closed Friday and all nine employees of the Illinois-headquartered firm, who provide municipal and healthcare advisory solutions and treasury consulting services, joined PFM, the top-ranked financial advisor nationally.

"The asset acquisition of Melio & Company signifies the importance of the healthcare sector to PFM," said Dan Hartman, PFM's chief executive officer. "We are pleased to welcome all Melio & Company employees as part of the transaction."

PFM

Six will join PFM Financial Advisors LLC and three will join PFM Group Consulting LLC which provides managing consulting services.

The financial advisory healthcare practice will be co-led by Melio's Florien Bouwmeester and PFM Director Brian Carter. They report to Jeremy Bass, who heads the healthcare and higher education practices at PFM Financial Advisors.

One of the keys to success in an acquisition like this "is a cultural alignment and we feel we have a very strong alignment" with similar goals as independent advisors, Bass said. While PFM has an established healthcare practice it has "always wanted to grow and we felt that this was a very unique opportunity to do that."

The treasury consulting practice will now have a specialized healthcare team led by Aimee Trepiccione from Melio under Mike Nadol, president of PFM Group Consulting.

"Melio & Company has advised some of the nation's leading health systems on strategic and tactical treasury optimization and banking relationships for many years. This is a tremendous addition," Nadol said.

Melio joins PFM as a senior director.

"Together, we share a dedication to providing clients with experienced financial advice in a rapidly changing healthcare environment," Melio said in a note to clients.

Melio said he was especially excited to see Bouwmeester and Trepiccione assume leadership positions. 

PFM's advisory practice covers healthcare providers from multi-state healthcare systems and academic medical centers to community hospitals and senior care providers, assisting with raising capital, strategic financial planning and management.

"We expect to provide Melio & Company's loyal client base with a seamless transition," Bass said.

PFM claimed the top spot among municipal advisors last year, credited by Refinitiv with advising on deals valued at $50.1 billion for a 16.4% market share.

In the healthcare sector, Melio & Co. finished fifth among financial advisors on healthcare transactions nationally last year, credited with advising on six issues valued at $651 million for 3.5% of market share. PFM ranked seventh credited, with advising on five deals valued at $365 million for 2% of market share, according to data from Refinitiv.

PFM cited Ipreo data that puts it in the top five for the healthcare sector over the last three years advising on $3.5 billion in 31 transactions.

Melio launched the firm in 2009 after a long career in public finance investment banking. After graduating from Penn State and earning a graduate degree from Carnegie Mellon, Melio worked in the healthcare consulting group for Touche Ross.

He moved on to Goldman Sachs where he established relationships and built his healthcare and higher education practice during his decade there. He later went to JPMorgan Chase where he spent 12 years. He led healthcare and higher education and his tenure included a stint as head of the tax-exempt banking group.

In 2017, Melio penned a book "The Private Life of Public Finance: Confessions of a Recovering Investment Banker" that reflected on his banking career and decision to launch an advisory firm.

Hospital sector woes run deep, with the recovery from COVID-19 driven shutdowns being tempered by new strains from labor shortages and inflationary, wage, and supply chain cost pressures. Hospitals are also grappling with growing cyberattack threats and are looking for strategies to adjust to the new landscape whether through changes in services, partnerships or mergers.