October 12, 2021
Willkie represented Centerbridge Partners, DentaQuest's minority shareholder, in the transaction.
DentaQuest entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF), forS$2.475 billion (approximately C$3.1 billion). DentaQuest's minority shareholder, Centerbridge, will also be selling its stake in DentaQuest.
Headquartered in Boston and founded in 2001, DentaQuest is the largest provider of Medicaid dental benefits in the U.S. with growing Medicare Advantage, commercial and U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange businesses. Currently DentaQuest has more than 33 million members in 36 states and approximately 2,400 employees.
Upon close of the transaction, DentaQuest will become part of the Sun Life U.S. business, and is expected to more than double the size of Sun Life's U.S. employee benefits business by revenues. Sun Life U.S. currently offers dental benefits through employers for their employee benefits plans and has an extensive national commercial dental network. The sale is expected to position Sun Life as a leading dental benefits provider.
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate clients, with operations in a number of markets worldwide. In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 55,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country.
Founded in 2005, Centerbridge Partners is a private investment management firm across private equity, private credit and real estate with approximately $32 billion in capital under management. Willkie previously represented Centerbridge Partners in its investment in DentaQuest.
The Willkie team was led by partner Rosalind Fahey Kruse and included associate Tej Prakash.
