BlackRock will take majority ownership of a venture that owns nearly 150 senior primary care clinics, replacing private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion. Humana's CenterWell division will retain a minority stake and keep managing and operating every clinic.
Who Owns the Clinics
The transaction moves majority ownership from WCAS to BlackRock, while Humana remains a minority owner and operator. The $2.8 billion figure values WCAS’s stake; it isn’t an announced payment to Humana. Evercore ISI analyst Elizabeth Anderson said, “The $2.8 billion represents the value of WCAS's stake rather than announced proceeds to HUM.”
Humana said the new arrangement will provide growth capital, lower its cost of capital and significantly reduce liabilities on its balance sheet. Those are the financial benefits the company cited. The announcement gave no breakdown of the growth capital, the amount of liabilities to be reduced, or the venture’s operating costs.
Anderson said the transaction gives Humana more time to develop the clinic portfolio and improve its profitability. “The main benefit of the transition is that it grants HUM more time to further develop the portfolio of clinics (and raise profitability) and further delay the date they have to exercise their option,” she said.
Profitability and the timing of Humana’s purchase decision sit at the center of the arrangement, according to the analyst’s account. The deal values WCAS’s stake, while Humana’s expected gains include more time to develop the portfolio and a lower cost of capital, the company and Anderson said.
The Purchase Options
Starting in 2028, CenterWell will have the option to purchase clinics from the joint venture. That gives Humana a path to acquire clinics while it continues managing and operating them under the new ownership arrangement.
If CenterWell hasn’t acquired all the clinics by the end of 2033, BlackRock can exit through a sale process. CenterWell will have the right to make the first offer. Humana’s terms therefore lay out a future purchase option for CenterWell and a sale route for BlackRock if the clinics remain in the venture past the stated deadline.
The company announced no purchase schedule, price for individual clinics, or number of clinics CenterWell might acquire at each stage. The transaction concerns ownership and financing of the clinic portfolio. CenterWell will continue to run all the clinics after BlackRock replaces WCAS as majority owner.
Regulatory Approval and Related Deals
The latest transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Humana said it isn’t expected to materially affect its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance.
This marks Humana’s second strategic deal with BlackRock this year. The companies previously agreed to sell Humana’s minority stake in Gentiva, a provider of hospice and palliative care services, to an investor consortium that includes BlackRock.
The announcement identifies the companies, clinic ownership stakes, expected financial effects and future purchase and sale options. It gives no figures on clinic workers, wages, staffing, patient charges or labor representation, and reports no union response or organized resistance. Regulatory review is the state’s identified role in the transaction; approvals remain a condition of closing.