Sun Life Financial Inc., through its U.S. business, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire DentaQuest, for US$2.475 billion. Headquartered in Boston and founded in 2001, DentaQuest is a provider of Medicaid dental benefits in the U.S. with Medicare Advantage, commercial and U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange businesses.
Upon close of the transaction, DentaQuest will become part of the Sun Life U.S. business. Sun Life U.S. currently offers dental benefits through employers for their employee benefits plans and has an extensive national commercial dental network.
“We’re excited about the acquisition of DentaQuest and expanding our leadership into the U.S. dental benefits space,” said Kevin Strain, President and CEO of Sun Life. “DentaQuest is a values-driven industry leader dedicated to improving oral health, with a focus on underserved populations and access to dental care. The addition of DentaQuest is consistent with our strategy to focus on health and group benefits in the U.S. More importantly, it supports both our Purpose to help Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives and our sustainability focus on improving health and wellness outcomes for all.”
“DentaQuest is a great organization that provides high-quality dental care and insurance benefits to tens of millions of people in the United States, with an emphasis on government programs, a fast-growing segment that now rivals the size of the employee benefits space,” said Dan Fishbein, M.D., President of Sun Life U.S. “DentaQuest brings Sun Life a leading dental business, and we plan to build on DentaQuest’s strength in dental programs along with Sun Life’s national commercial provider network and distribution team. DentaQuest’s strong values are highly compatible with our own, focused on delivering quality oral health care to all communities. We’re thrilled to have DentaQuest’s team join us.”
“DentaQuest’s combination with Sun Life marks an important next step in our long-term transformation that will enhance and broaden our existing capabilities,” said Steve Pollock, President and Chief Executive Officer of DentaQuest. “A variety of longstanding barriers have created significant unmet oral health needs, which are disproportionately felt by historically marginalized groups. With support from Sun Life, we will be even better positioned to fulfill this critical need, and we look forward to partnering with them as we begin this exciting next chapter.”
DentaQuest’s minority shareholder, Centerbridge, will also be selling its stake in DentaQuest. “It has been a great pleasure to work so closely with Steve Pollock and the DentaQuest management team, who stand out for their exceptional skill in delivering value for customers, members, and all stakeholders, always in constant pursuit of DentaQuest’s important mission,” said Dan Osnoss, Senior Managing Director of Centerbridge. “We are also honored by our association with our partners at CareQuest Institute, who make critical contributions to the wellbeing of so many people. Sun Life is a fantastic home for DentaQuest with complementary capabilities and an aligned mission, and we look forward to their success together.”
Arya has been a part of the Content & Research Team at Hrnxt.com. She is a keen observer of economic developments, emerging businesses, people in business and keeps a tab on latest happenings in the business environment.