Browder, Brian
Brian R. Browder
615.850.8636

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 30 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 $4.5 billion. His experience spans the spectrum of healthcare service providers, including medical/surgical hospitals, behavioral healthcare services providers (including eating and substance use disorders), gastroenterologists, providers of healthcare services to women, imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), renal care providers, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), management services organizations (MSOs) and dental support organizations (DSOs). Creating joint ventures between tax-exempt and investor-owned companies are particularly rewarding to Mr. Browder as they bring together the best of both worlds to help deliver better care to patients.

Mr. Browder has been recognized by his peers and clients for his healthcare experience in leading professional and industry publications, including Chambers USA. He has led numerous in-house training sessions on general corporate matters as well as healthcare transactions.  Mr. Browder speaks extensively at a wide range of healthcare industry conferences on transactional issues.

Representative Experience

  • Served as lead counsel to Lifepoint Health in its formation of DLP Healthcare, a joint venture with Duke University Health System, in order to own and operate community hospitals in North Carolina, surrounding states and in the Midwest
  • Represented Lifepoint Health in the formation of a joint venture with Norton Healthcare, Kentucky's largest healthcare provider, to expand its reach in underserved rural areas of Kentucky and Indiana
  • Served as lead counsel to DLP Healthcare in its acquisition of multiple hospitals located in North Carolina
  • Served as lead counsel to DLP Healthcare in its acquisition of an 80 percent interest in multiple hospitals located in North Carolina
  • Served as lead counsel to a nonprofit entity in its affiliation and acquisition of membership interests of a hospital located in Florida
  • Represented an Oklahoma academic medical center in its affiliation agreement with an investor-owned hospital
  • Served as lead counsel to a joint venture in its acquisition of a hospital in Indiana
  • Served as lead counsel to an investor-owned health system in its acquisition of a tax-exempt hospital in Georgia
  • Served as lead counsel to a Tennessee nonprofit corporation in its purchase of a hospital in Tennessee
  • Served as lead counsel to a Tennessee hospital district in connection with the disposition of an 80 percent interest in a hospital and the subsequent construction of a replacement hospital
  • Served as lead counsel to a tax-exempt entity in its sale of an 80 percent interest in an Oklahoma hospital
  • Served as lead counsel to Delta Regional Medical Center, a 268-bed, medical-surgical (med-surg) county-owned hospital, in connection with its acquisition of King's Daughters Hospital, a 137-bed med-surg hospital
  • Served as special healthcare and diligence counsel to Ventas Inc. in its partnership with Ardent Medical Services

  • Served as lead transaction counsel in the sale of Pioneer Health Services' accountable care organizations, critical access hospitals, nursing home facilities and other entities pursuant to Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code
  • Served as lead transaction counsel in the sale of 14 hospitals (12 long-term acute care hospitals and two medical/surgical) and two skilled nursing facilities for Promise Healthcare pursuant to Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the sale of the equity interests of Alexius Hospital in St. Louis
  • 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 more than $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 under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code
  • Assisted a 140-bed Arkansas not-for-profit hospital in the sale of its home health agency, which provided the liquidity necessary to complete its Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding
  • Served as transaction counsel to Meridian Surgical Partners in its sale of seven ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) for $46.5 million to a joint venture formed between Medical Facilities Corp. and NueHealth LLC

  • Served as special healthcare counsel to a private equity firm in its acquisition of a controlling interest in a behavioral healthcare (eating disorder) platform
  • Served as lead counsel in connection with an investment in a behavioral healthcare (eating disorder) company
  • Served as lead counsel to a joint venture in the development of mental health hospital co-located with an Ohio nursing home
  • Served as lead counsel to Haven Behavioral Health in its acquisition of two facilities dedicated to the treatment of autism spectrum disorders
  • Served as lead counsel to Reliant Healthcare in the formation of a joint venture with a nursing home operator to develop and operate a co-located geriatric psychiatry unit in Missouri
  • Served as lead counsel to Behavioral Centers of America in its purchase of Circle of Life Center, a 90-bed specialty and long-term care psychiatric hospital located in Detroit, Michigan
  • Served as lead counsel to an investor-owned behavioral healthcare company in its long-term lease of a psychiatric hospital in Texas
  • Served as lead counsel to equity owners in the sale of all of equity interests of KEYS Group Holdings to Universal Health Services

  • Served as lead counsel to an investor-owned company in its acquisition of a dental support organization (DSO), together with bolt-on acquisitions
  • Served as lead counsel in the formation of Abbey Dental, a DSO
  • Served as lead counsel in the formation of EXF Smiles, a DSO
  • Served as lead counsel to MACC Academy in the formation of Branin Dental Group

  • Served as lead counsel to American Physician Partners, a hospitalist and emergency room services company, in its formation, platform acquisitions and certain bolt-on acquisitions
  • Served as development counsel to Core Clinical Partners, an emergency and hospital medicine practice management company
  • Served as lead counsel to a private equity-backed provider of renal care services as it prepared and executed its market entry strategy to expand into New York
  • Served as transaction counsel to a private equity-backed provider of women's healthcare services in connection with multiple bolt-on acquisitions
  • Served as lead counsel to a private equity-backed provider of gastrological services in connection with multiple bolt-on acquisitions as well as the disposition of its interest in the platform
  • Served as lead counsel to a precision diagnostic company in a minority investment in an outpatient imaging business structured to enable the investor to consolidate the financial results of the business
  • Served as lead counsel to a precision diagnostic company in its round C financing from a strategic investor
  • Served as special healthcare counsel to a private equity firm in its acquisition of hospice agencies in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska
  • Served as lead counsel to investor-owned company in its acquisition of the remaining 80 percent of the equity interests in a clinical laboratory services provider
  • Served as lead counsel to an investor-owned company in its formation of a joint venture to operate rehabilitation hospitals in Oklahoma
  • Served as counsel to a private equity firm in the disposition of its interest in a provider of healthcare services to women
  • Served as counsel to a private equity firm in its sale of its interest in a provider of gastrological services

Credentials

Education
  • Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D.
  • Georgetown University, B.S.B.A., Accounting
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Tennessee
Memberships
  • 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
Honors & Awards
  • Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, Healthcare, 2011-2020
  • The Best Lawyers in America guide, Health Care Law, 2013-Present
  • InCharge Healthcare, Nashville Medical News, 2015-Present
  • Health Care Heroes, Nashville Business Journal, 2012
  • Outstanding Young Healthcare Lawyer, Nightingale Healthcare News, 2009
  • Inaugural Chair, Healthcare Department of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis

Publications

News