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ePLDT's BPO Subsidiary Acquires Laguna Medical Systems, Inc.
SPi Expands Healthcare Platform by Adding Medical Coding Consulting Services to Its Portfolio
| Source: SPi
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - September 2, 2009) - SPi, a leading global business process
outsourcing (BPO) company, today announced that it has acquired Laguna
Medical Systems, Inc. (LMS) for an aggregate purchase price of US $8.25
million.
LMS has 50+ regionally-based consultants who assist more than 200 hospitals
to achieve coding and billing compliance and to optimize entitled
reimbursements for patient services. The 22-year-old company also offers
Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) defense and recovery services to help
healthcare providers manage and defend RAC audits.
Peter Maquera, President and CEO of SPi, said, "As a result of the
significant focus on healthcare reform in the US, we have been actively
tracking companies in the coding compliance space with the goal of finding
one to acquire whose corporate culture and values match our own. LMS fits
the bill. Their capabilities nicely complement our existing medical
transcription, billing and revenue cycle management services and provide an
excellent, new entry point for us into this rapidly growing $25 billion
industry." Maquera went on to say, "The inclusion of LMS's service
offerings in our Healthcare portfolio allows us to strengthen our
relationships with the more than 400 hospitals, multi-specialty clinics and
physician practices that we currently serve, and it increases our
Healthcare-specific employee base to more than 2,000 worldwide."
The US healthcare industry accounts for 16% of US GDP and is the largest
segment in the US economy. With the US government now requiring healthcare
providers to achieve a 95% or greater accuracy rate on medical coding,
inexperienced healthcare providers with limited resources are expected to
struggle to meet this requirement, enhancing growth opportunities for
well-funded and managed service providers in the coding compliance
consulting market. Add to this that the US government's RAC program is
soon to expand from just hospitals to physicians in all states and the
rationale for entering this coding marketplace becomes even stronger.
"SPi's acquisition of LMS is an excellent example of how we are executing
on our strategic plan to accelerate growth and strengthen our position in
the BPO arena," stated Ray C. Espinosa, President and CEO of ePLDT.
Espinosa went on to say, "Recognizing the rapid and continued growth in the
healthcare industry, we are committed to expanding our platform in this
area and are delighted to be adding another annuity-based business to our
overall BPO portfolio."
Mike Beninato, President and CEO of SPi's wholly-owned medical billing and
revenue cycle management company, Springfield Service Corporation (SSC),
said, "SSC's management team is equally pleased with the acquisition of LMS
and looks forward to merging its service offerings with our own." He added,
"As it is becoming increasingly important for healthcare providers to
significantly improve their efficiency while simultaneously lowering their
costs, LMS's coding, audit and compliance consulting services, along with
the rest of SPi's offerings, provide a critical set of capabilities for
organizations navigating their way through today's ever-changing healthcare
landscape. We look forward to working with LMS to integrate its offerings
with ours and to achieve continued growth and profitability together in the
years ahead."
About SPi
SPi is a leading full-service global BPO solutions provider with offices
and facilities across North America, Europe and Asia. SPi has over 7,000
employees delivering a wide range of content outsourcing services to
diversified markets, including Healthcare, Legal, and Publishing. SPi
consistently improves operating efficiency, lowers costs, and helps to
strengthen the competitive position of more than 500 clients worldwide.
SPi is wholly-owned by ePLDT, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the leading
telecommunications provider in the Philippines. PLDT is listed on the
Philippine Stock Exchange (PHP : TEL ) and its American Depository Shares are
listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE : PHI ).
For more information on SPi, visit www.spi-bpo.com.