- Counsel to private equity firms in numerous complex acquisitions of health care providers, including in the areas of behavioral health, specialty pharmacy, and hospice.
- Counsel to medical device, pharmaceutical, specialty pharmacy, home health care, and health care consumer products companies in public offerings, SEC compliance and disclosure, and corporate governance matters.
- Counsel to a leading global investment bank in a number of public securities offerings by health care companies.
- Counsel to numerous private health care providers and health care technology, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies in complex mergers, acquisitions, securities offerings, tender offers, and equity restructurings.
- Counsel to The Schumacher Group, a leading provider of outsourced emergency and hospital medicine clinical staffing and other health care advisory services, in a recapitalization with Onex Corporation.
- Advised Midwest Eye Center in its affiliation with EyeSouth Partners.
- Counsel to Avanos Medical, Inc. (AVNS) (formerly Halyard Health, Inc. (HYH)) in its $710 million carve-out of its surgical and infection prevention business to Owens & Minor (OMI), its carve-out of its respiratory health business to SunMed Group Holdings, and its $174 million acquisition of private-equity-backed CORPAK MedSystems Inc.
- Advised Clearview Capital in its acquisition of MBI Industrial Medicine, a provider of occupational injury care services.
- Advised Clearview Capital in its recapitalization of Capitol Imaging Services, a large provider of outpatient diagnostic imaging services in Louisiana and Alabama.
- Counsel to Arbor Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical portfolio company of KKR, in its tender offer and acquisition of XenoPort, Inc. (XNPT) for $467 million.
- Advised MID Holdings in its reorganization and investment in RelyMD, a telehealth platform.
- Advised Clearview Capital portfolio company Community Medical Services in its acquisition of the office-based opioid treatment center, Restorative Health and Recovery.
Partner,
- Phone: +1 404 881 4940
- Email: sarah.ernst@alston.com
Public and private companies and private equity firms have relied on Sarah to guide them through complex M&A and capital raising transactions and corporate governance matters for the past 20 years. With significant experience in the health care and life sciences industries, Sarah is a recognized expert in navigating these highly regulated transactions.
- Advised Pyramid Healthcare, a Clearview Capital portfolio company, in several add-on acquisitions of behavioral health treatment providers.
- Counsel to Clearview Capital in its sale of Advanced Medical Personnel Services to AMN Healthcare Services.
- Counsel to ValorBridge Partners in its acquisition of Hutcheson Medical Center out of bankruptcy, and the subsequent sale of the renamed Cornerstone Medical Center to CHI Memorial.
- Counsel to Halyard Health, Inc. in its $1.7 billion tax-free spinoff from Kimberly-Clark Corporation and high-yield debt exchange offer.
- Counsel to Harden Healthcare Holdings, Inc., a portfolio company of Capstar Partners and KKR, in a tax-free merger with Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (GTIV) valued at $410 million and the related spinoff of Harden’s long-term care business to its shareholders.
- Counsel to PSS World Medical in its $2.1 billion sale to McKesson Corporation and multiple 144A high-yield debt and exchange offers.
- Counsel to Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, the maker of Mucinex, in its IPO and several follow-on offerings, shelf registration and takedown, SEC compliance and reporting, corporate governance matters, and eventual sale for $2.3 billion to Reckitt Benckiser.
Sarah Ernst is co-chair of Alston & Bird’s corporate practice area and past chair of the Health Care Group. She leads an interdisciplinary team of corporate and finance attorneys, including health care compliance, FDA, and policy lawyers and advisors.
Sarah focuses her practice on corporate transactions, and she represents public and private companies and private equity clients in complex mergers and acquisitions, carve-out transactions, securities offerings, restructurings, joint ventures, and spinoffs, with an emphasis in the health care industry. Sarah also counsels companies on corporate governance matters and ongoing SEC compliance and reporting obligations.
Sarah received her J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where she was managing editor of the Oklahoma Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Sarah received her B.S.F.S., cum laude, from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She also attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1997 until 1999.
Sarah is ranked in Band 4 by Chambers USA in Healthcare law, and she is also recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©.
Languages
- German
Bar Admissions
- Georgia
Education
- University of Oklahoma (J.D.)
- Georgetown University (B.S.F.S.)