Hellman Puts Sheridan On Block

Hellman & Friedman is seeking buyers for Sheridan Healthcare, four years after buying the doctor and nurse staffing company, several sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, a sister news service to Buyouts. A sale could fetch around $1 billion or more, two of those sources said.

A recovery in debt markets has fueled private equity deals, although deal values remain small to medium size. A common feature over the past year has been private equity firms selling assets to each other. Sheridan did not reply by deadline to requests for comment. Hellman & Friedman declined comment.

Sunrise, Florida-based Sheridan specializes in anesthesiology, neonatology, emergency and radiology departments, according to Hellman & Friedman’s Web site. The company was founded by its current chairman and CEO, Dr. Mitchell Eisenberg, and its president, Dr. Lewis Gold, its Web site said.

Hellman & Friedman acquired Sheridan Healthcare Inc. in 2007 from J.W. Childs Associates for an undisclosed amount. The San Francisco buyout shop typically writes checks for $300 million to $1 billion and invests often in software, Internet and digital media, financial services, insurance, business and marketing services, industrial and energy, and health care industries.

Megan Davies is a correspondent for Reuters in New York. Correspondents Soyoung Kim in New York and Jessica Hall in Philadelphia also contributed to this report.