Fort Myers cancer services practice receives $65 million investment

AEA Growth, a private global private investment firm that traces its founding to the Rockefeller family, is investing $65 million into American Oncology Network, a Fort Myers cancer treatment company. 

The strategic growth investment, subject to closing conditions, “will be used to help further AON’s goals of supporting community practices and improving the patient experience,” according to a statement. AEA Growth will have a minority interest in AON, which will continue to be majority owned and governed by licensed oncologists, the release adds. 

Founded in late 2018, AON officials say AEA Growth’s investment follows a strong period of growth for the company, which generated over $1.1 billion in revenue in 2022 — up more than 20% year over year. As of Dec. 31, 2022, AON has some 200 providers in its portfolio, including 106 physicians and 30 practices across 77 locations in 17 states.

“We are excited to partner with the team at AEA Growth to continue growing the AON platform,” AON CEO Todd Schonherz says in the statement. “Over the past five years, our team at AON has invested a significant amount of capital into the AON platform which enables community-based oncology practices to operate with the benefits of our combined scale and expertise, while also allowing practices to maintain their autonomy. We believe that AEA Growth is aligned with our mission to continue investing behind our practices and to provide AON’s patients with cutting edge cancer care.”

AON executives say the mission of the company is to support community-based oncology practices, which it does through its “alliance of physicians and seasoned health care leaders.” 

“AON enables oncology practices to deliver best-in-class cancer care in the community, where it is both convenient and better value for patients,” AEA Growth Partner James Stith says in the release. “We are thrilled to partner with AON given its differentiated value proposition to community oncology practices and strong growth.”

AEA Growth invests in technology-enabled, health care and software companies and has some $19 billion in assets under management, according to its website. It’s part of AEA Investors LP, which was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a “select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets.” It has offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich and Shanghai.