Brian R. Browder
Partner
Overview
Brian Browder is a healthcare attorney in Holland & Knight's Nashville office. Mr. Browder has earned a reputation within the healthcare industry for getting difficult deals done. Clients praise his understanding of their businesses and management philosophies, and they highlight his instrumental role in helping them achieve their objectives. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Browder has served as lead counsel in complex healthcare mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and private equity investments with an aggregate value of more than $4 billion.
Mr. Browder's experience ranges from the acquisition or sale of individual hospitals and healthcare facilities to physician practice acquisitions and virtually everything in between, including high-profile transformative hospital transactions. He is particularly focused on assisting private equity firms with platform and bolt-on acquisitions of physician practices and regularly serves as counsel on distressed healthcare transactions.
In addition, Mr. Browder served as special healthcare, real estate and diligence counsel to Ventas Inc. in connection with its purchase and lease back of the real property associated with the operations of Ardent Healthcare and as lead counsel to Lifepoint Health in the formation of a joint venture with Duke University Health System to assemble a dynamic network of hospitals and healthcare providers. With experience representing investor-owned entities as well as nonprofit organizations in strategic joint ventures, he has successfully navigated the challenges involved in merging different cultures to build successful long-term collaborations.
Mr. Browder has been recognized by his peers and clients for his healthcare experience in numerous professional and industry publications, including Chambers USA. He has spoken extensively at a wide range of healthcare industry conferences on transactional issues such as:
- joint ventures
- buy-sell agreements
- asset purchase agreements
- stock purchase agreements
- due diligence issues
Representative Experience
- Served as lead counsel to Lifepoint Health and Duke University Health System in their formation of a joint venture, Duke Lifepoint Health, in order to own and operate community hospitals in North Carolina and surrounding states
- Represented Lifepoint Health in the formation of a joint venture with Norton Healthcare, Kentucky’s largest healthcare provider, to expand its reach in the rural areas of Kentucky and Indiana
- Served as primary counsel in the sale of Pioneer Health Services' facilities and other entities pursuant to Section 363 of the bankruptcy code
- Negotiated the sale of a number of hospitals for Promise Healthcare and confirmed a plan of liquidation with significant recoveries for unsecured creditors
- Counseled Little River Healthcare Holdings LLC and certain affiliates in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas with over $50 million in long-term debt obligations
- Served as lead counsel to St. David's HealthCare, which is majority-owned by HCA Healthcare Inc., in its acquisition of Forest Park Medical Center in Austin, Texas, out of bankruptcy
- Represented HCA Healthcare Inc. in its acquisition of Forest Park Medical Center in Frisco, Texas, in a Section 363 bankruptcy transaction
- Assisted a 140-bed Arkansas not-for-profit hospital in winding down its operations, liquidating assets and in its Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding
- Served as special healthcare, real estate and diligence counsel to Ventas Inc. during its acquisition of Ardent Medical Services for $1.75 billion
- Represented Axia Women's Health in its acquisition of the Fertility Institute of New Jersey & New York
- Represented Axia Women's Health in its acquisition of Cincinnati-based Seven Hills Women's Health Centers
- Served as transaction and healthcare regulatory counsel to Gastro Health in its acquisition of South Florida Gastroenterology Associates, adding 15 providers, seven offices and two ambulatory surgery centers to Gastro Health's network
- Represented MACC Academy in the formation of Branin Dental Group
- Served as transaction, healthcare regulatory and bankruptcy counsel to Meridian Surgical Partners in its sale of seven ambulatory surgery centers for $46.5 million to a joint venture formed between Medical Facilities Corp. and NueHealth LLC
- Served as transaction and healthcare regulatory counsel to a PE-backed gastroenterology in its acquisition of a similar practice based in Seattle
Credentials
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D.
- Georgetown University, B.S.B.A., Accounting
- Tennessee
- Nashville Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Health Law Section
- American Health Law Association
- Harpeth Youth Soccer Association, Former President and Board Member
- Tennessee Board of Optometry, Former Member
- Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, Healthcare, 2011-2020
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Health Care Law, 2013-2024
- InCharge Healthcare, Nashville Medical News, 2015-Present
- Health Care Heroes, Nashville Business Journal, 2012