Tennessee firm acquires 30 percent stake in Bankers Healthcare Group for $75 million

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNFP) announced that its subsidiary, Pinnacle Bank, has acquired a 30 percent interest in Bankers Healthcare Group, LLC (BHG), a privately held company with operations in Syracuse, for $75 million. 

Nashville–based Pinnacle made the announcement in a news release posted on its website Feb. 4.

Davie, Florida–based BHG is a provider of financing for health-care professionals across the U.S. The firm’s financial headquarters are located at 201 Solar St. in Syracuse. It employed about 70 people there, as of last June, according to a June 20, 2014, article in The Central New York Business Journal.

BHG’s loan originations are sourced through a variety of distribution channels and primarily sold through an online-auction process to a network of about 200 community banks, according to the Pinnacle news release. 

BHG generated revenue of about $98 million in 2014, with pretax income of about $49 million, Pinnacle said.

As part of the investment, Pinnacle will get to name one member of BHG’s four-person board of directors. 

BHG’s other three founders and executive officers will retain a 70 percent ownership interest in BHG and have contractually agreed to remain with the firm for an “extended period of time,” Pinnacle said.

BHG’s reputation in the medical community, growth trajectory, and “solid” leadership make for a “strong” partnership,” M. Terry Turner, Pinnacle’s president and CEO, said in the news release.

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses, their owners, and individuals.

Launched in 2000, Pinnacle currently has about $6 billion in assets, as of Dec. 31, 2014, according to its news release.