Today, more than 300 Nashville Health Care Council members gathered to hear financial experts give insights on current and future trends in access to capital and first-hand perspectives on the state of the market, M&A activity and the outlook for funding the growth of Nashville’s $70 billion health care industry.

The “Financing the Deal” panel discussion was moderated by Tom Wylly, senior partner, Brentwood Capital, and included panelists James Forbes, vice chairman, UBS Group Americas; Chris Gordon, managing director, Bain Capital; Rich Harding, managing director, Moelis & Company; Grant Jackson, general partner, Council Capital; and Phillip Molner, managing partner, Primus Capital.

“Health reform has made controlling costs and quality of care a top issue for health care companies. As the industry reacts to regulatory changes, we anticipate active deal making for organizations that create efficiency and produce high-quality outcomes,” said Forbes.

“As the ACA continues to roll out, we expect increased acquisition activity and creative alliances between unlikely partners and industry sectors as a response to the changing needs of health care companies,” said Gordon.

“The ingredients exist for a robust health care services M&A market in 2014. Buyers and sellers continue to benefit from significant access to low-cost capital and strong public market valuations with now greater visibility into how health care reform will ultimately evolve,” said Harding.

“Small, fast growing health care companies represent an attractive market segment for investment, because they provide the innovation and nimbleness required to facilitate and enable the rapid pace of change occurring in health care,” said Jackson.

“We are particularly excited about technology-driven solutions that meet consumers and clinicians needs for rapid and useful data, while easily fitting into the care delivery model and controlling costs,” said Molner.

More than 250 health care companies have operations in Nashville and work on a multi-state, national or international basis. Thirteen publicly traded health care companies are headquartered in Nashville.

“Nashville’s rich entrepreneurial culture and strong management expertise creates opportunity for our diverse health care industry to grow and meet the needs of a rapidly changing industry,” said Council President Caroline Young.

About the Nashville Health Care Council

The Nashville Health Care Council, founded in 1995 as an affiliate of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, is an association of health care industry leaders working together to further establish Nashville’s position as the nation’s health care industry capital. Worldwide, Nashville’s health care industry generates more than 400,000 jobs and $70 billion in annual revenue. The industry is Nashville’s largest and fastest growing employer. For more information on the Council, please visit www.healthcarecouncil.com.

About Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC

Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC, founded in 1999, is a privately held investment bank headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, providing mergers & acquisitions and capital-raising advisory services to middle-market companies in the business services, financial services, information technology, and healthcare sectors. BCA has served as exclusive financial advisor in over 60 successfully closed transactions in these sectors, representing more than $4.0 billion in value. For more information, visit www.brentwoodcapital.com.