BlackRock to Buy WCAS Stake in CenterWell Clinic Ventures

The Tip Desk · October 13, 2026 · 2 min read

The new venture covers nearly 150 clinics, with BlackRock as majority owner and CenterWell as minority owner. CenterWell will continue to manage and operate the clinics.

Humana Inc. (HUM) agreed to a new joint venture under which BlackRock will acquire Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe’s (WCAS) current equity ownership in existing CenterWell Senior Primary Care joint ventures. The WCAS stake is valued at approximately $2.8 billion. The new venture will cover nearly 150 clinics, with BlackRock as majority owner and CenterWell as minority owner. CenterWell will continue to manage and operate all clinics owned by the venture.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and state and federal regulatory approval. The insurer framed the joint venture as a way to support future growth opportunities for CenterWell while unlocking additional growth capital and providing greater financial flexibility for Humana.

Dr. Sanjay Shetty, President of CenterWell, said: “We look forward to this new venture with BlackRock as our partner, while our growing network of CenterWell clinics remains dedicated to serving patients with our unique model of senior-focused, value-based care.”

Primary care is one of three CenterWell lines alongside pharmacy solutions and home solutions. In the three months ended June 30, 2026, CenterWell primary care revenue was $2.008 billion, compared with $1.479 billion a year earlier; for the six months ended June 30, 2026, the line generated $3.930 billion versus $2.898 billion. CenterWell as a whole posted $6.790 billion of revenue in that second quarter, up from $5.537 billion.

The clinic footprint had been expanding. As of June 30, 2026, CenterWell’s full primary care network operated 398 centers with 1,478 providers serving 622,000 patients, versus 335 centers, 1,134 providers, and 430,300 patients a year earlier. Management said the network was serving approximately 622,000 patients as of June 30, 2026, an increase of 130,900 patients, or 27%, from December 31, 2025. The Villages Health acquisition, which closed in November 2025, added 8 primary care centers and about 32,000 patients.

Humana has previously described primary care as a multi-payer platform intended to contribute to enterprise earnings over time, with scaling through new centers, patient growth, and Independent Physician Associations. In 2025 it said it expected to add about 20 to 30 centers and targeted net patient growth of 30,000 to 50,000. Humana described this as its second strategic transaction with BlackRock this year, following an earlier agreement to divest all or substantially all of its minority interest in Gentiva to a consortium of investors that includes BlackRock.

The joint venture is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and state and federal regulatory approval.