Neuberger and KKR agree significant minority stake in health-data platform Datavant alongside New Mountain
On 15 September 2026, Neuberger and KKR agreed to take an equity stake in Datavant, the US health records network reaching 80,000+ providers and 75 of the top 100 US health systems. New Mountain Capital, invested since 2014, keeps its controlling position. Terms were not disclosed and closing is expected in Q4 2026.
Where the rake sits
Datavant owns the rake: it holds the substrate and does the tokenisation and linkage work that makes the network valuable, so its position is owner-enriched. This transaction is a minority equity investment in the rake-holder, not a data transaction: no data asset crosses a perimeter, so there is no route to classify.
What happened
- Announced 15 September 2026; expected to close Q4 2026, subject to customary closing conditions; terms and valuation not disclosed.
- Neuberger invests through Neuberger Capital Solutions and Neuberger Private Markets; KKR invests primarily through funds and accounts managed by its Strategic Investments Group.
- New Mountain Capital, first invested in Datavant in 2014, retains its controlling position after the transaction.
- Datavant's network reaches 80,000+ providers, 75 of the top 100 US health systems and 350+ ecosystem partners; the company states that data moving through it touches 90% of the US population and 80% of Medicare Advantage participants; more than 60m records move across the network.
- J.P. Morgan Securities was sole placement agent and lead financial advisor to Datavant, with Jefferies and Wells Fargo also advising; Ropes & Gray advised Datavant and New Mountain; Latham & Watkins represented Neuberger and KKR.
- Neuberger Private Markets managed more than $165bn of investor commitments as of 31 March 2026; Neuberger Capital Solutions manages approximately $12bn across 90+ companies in three funds; New Mountain manages approximately $60bn.
Who is involved
Datavant is a health information technology company which develops and maintains a digital ecosystem for the exchange of healthcare data.
Neuberger Berman Group LLC is an American investment management firm.
KKR is an American investment firm.
AUM approx. US$758B as of March 31, 2026
New Mountain Capital is an American alternative investment firm.
The reading
Datavant does the enrichment itself: the tokenisation and linkage layer, and the analytics products built on it, with the raw records staying inside the 80,000+ providers and 350+ data partners on the network. This transaction does not move that work. It changes who holds Datavant's equity: Neuberger and KKR take a significant minority, and New Mountain, invested since 2014, keeps control.
The payers in this event are Neuberger and KKR, and their decision is about Datavant's equity, not one made by using its substrate. On the operating business the paying buyers are health plans, providers and life-sciences firms, whose decisions on risk adjustment, cohort selection and record retrieval depend on Datavant linking records across the network.
Nothing in the Datavant substrate crossed to Neuberger or KKR: no records, no tokens, no customer relationships moved. What crossed was a minority equity interest from existing holders, with New Mountain explicitly retaining control; terms and valuation were not disclosed.
Not determinable from this event. It is a financing transaction between equity holders rather than a data deal, so there is no customer price, scope or clause here against which under-capture could be read; the better place to ask the question is in Datavant's underlying payer, provider and life-sciences contracts, which are not disclosed.
Why it matters
A minority financing into a data platform is not itself a data deal - no substrate crossed, no buyer was pointed at a specific call - but the investors' stated thesis (a network 'difficult to replicate', a role as 'connective tissue') is a bet that Datavant's owned rake will hold as clinical AI and connected health data become the next set of buyer decisions the substrate is pointed at.
The argument this deal tests: The rake is decided before the negotiation begins
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Sources
- citybiz.co — primary
- stocktitan.net — party background
- newmountaincapital.com — party background
- newmountaincapital.com — party background
Announced 2026-09-15