Surgery Board and Management Team Have Presided Over the Vast Destruction of Value and Must Be Held Accountable
Letter Outlines Multiple Paths to Building and Unlocking Intrinsic Value for Stockholders
Divestiture of Surgical Hospitals Should Generate Billions of Dollars in Asset Sales, Enabling Stock Repurchase and Balance Sheet Deleveraging
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ortelius Advisors, L.P. today issued the following open letter to stockholders of Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGRY).
March 10, 2026
Fellow Stockholders,
Ortelius Advisors, L.P. (“Ortelius” or “we”) believes that Surgery Partners, Inc. (“Surgery” or the “Company”) has significant upside potential, based on its high-quality assets, favorable industry dynamics, and considerable free cash flow capabilities. However, we are deeply concerned by the Company’s abysmal performance, and destruction of stockholder value.
In the past five years, Surgery’s stock price has declined 67%, and has lagged benchmarks by 108 percentage points.
BENCHMARK COMPARISONS
| Total Stockholder Returns | 1-Year (3/9/25 – 3/9/26) | 3-Year (3/9/23 – 3/9/26) | 5-Year (3/9/21 – 3/9/26) |
| Surgery Partners, Inc. |
(45 %) |
(58 %) |
(67 %) |
| Dow Jones US Healthcare Providers Index |
(19 %) |
(14 %) |
1 % |
| S&P 500 Healthcare Index |
5 % |
30 % |
48 % |
| Russell 3000 Index |
19 % |
77 % |
78 % |
| Russell 3000 Healthcare Index |
7 % |
30 % |
35 % |
| Indices Average |
3 % |
31 % |
40 % |
|
Table Note1 |
|
1 Bloomberg as of March 9, 2026. Returns are adjusted for dividends. |
| Total Stockholder Returns: Surgery Minus Indices | 1-Year (3/9/25 – 3/9/26) | 3-Year (3/9/23 – 3/9/26) | 5-Year (3/9/21 – 3/9/26) |
| Dow Jones US Healthcare Providers Index |
(26 %) |
(44 %) |
(68 %) |
| S&P 500 Healthcare Index |
(50 %) |
(88 %) |
(115 %) |
| Russell 3000 Index |
(64 %) |
(135 %) |
(145 %) |
| Russell 3000 Healthcare Index |
(51 %) |
(88 %) |
(102 %) |
| Indices Average |
(48 %) |
(89 %) |
(108 %) |
|
Table Note2 |
PEER COMPARISONS
During this same period, Surgery’s peers, HCA Healthcare, Inc. (“HCA”) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (“Tenet”), have prospered, and their total stockholder returns have outperformed the Company by a staggering 276 and 413 percentage points, respectively.
| Total Stockholder Returns | 1-Year (3/9/25 – 3/9/26) | 3-Year (3/9/23 – 3/9/26) | 5-Year (3/9/21 – 3/9/26) |
| Surgery Partners, Inc. |
(45 %) |
(58 %) |
(67 %) |
| HCA Healthcare, Inc. |
66 % |
121 % |
209 % |
| Tenet Healthcare Corporation |
89 % |
338 % |
346 % |
| Peers Average |
78 % |
230 % |
277 % |
|
Table note3 |
| Total Stockholder Returns: Surgery Minus Peers | 1-Year (3/9/25 – 3/9/26) | 3-Year (3/9/23 – 3/9/26) | 5-Year (3/9/21 – 3/9/26) |
| HCA Healthcare, Inc. |
(111 %) |
(180 %) |
(276 %) |
| Tenet Healthcare Corporation |
(133 %) |
(396 %) |
(413 %) |
| Peers Average |
(122 %) |
(288 %) |
(344 %) |
|
Table note4 |
|
2 Bloomberg as of March 9, 2026. Figures represent the percentage point difference between Surgery stockholder returns and indices. Returns are adjusted for dividends. |
|
3 Bloomberg as of March 9, 2026. Returns are adjusted for dividends. |
|
4 Bloomberg as of March 9, 2026. Figures represent the percentage point difference between Surgery stockholder returns and peers. Returns are adjusted for dividends. |
MAXIMIZING STOCKHOLDER VALUE
Ortelius strongly believes that there are multiple ways to win, and many paths to building and unlocking intrinsic value over the near- and long-term, including:
- monetizing all of the surgical hospitals
- repurchasing shares
- reducing debt
- refreshing the Board
- installing a new management team; and
- reviewing strategic alternatives
A divestiture of all of the surgical hospitals should generate billions of dollars in asset sales, and afford the wherewithal to buy back stock, pay down debt, and improve credit worthiness. The remaining entity, a pure-play ambulatory surgery centers business, would exhibit stronger revenue growth, higher EBITDA margins, and larger free cash flow yields, and warrant a much expanded EV/EBITDA multiple.
Results related to strategy, investment allocation, operations, financials, capital structure, corporate governance, and stockholder communications are unacceptable, and stockholders have lost confidence in Surgery’s leadership, judgement, execution, and decision-making abilities. The Company’s Board of Directors and management team, who have spearheaded the vast destruction of stockholder value, must be held accountable, and it’s time for substantial change.
Sincerely,
Peter DeSorcy
Managing Member
Ortelius Advisors, L.P.
About Ortelius Advisors, L.P.
Ortelius is a research-intensive, fundamental-based, activist-oriented alternative investment management firm focused on event-driven opportunities.
Contacts
Media:
Gagnier Communications
Dan Gagnier & Riyaz Lalani
ortelius@gagnierfc.com
