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Nicholas Ferrer

Partner and Co-Chair of the firm-wide M&A practice (led the Perkins Coie team advising R1 RCM on its $675M acquisition of Acclara) at Ashurst Perkins Coie

Seattle, Washington, USA

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Why they matter

Co-chairs M&A at Ashurst Perkins Coie and is R1's repeat deal counsel, giving him a direct read on healthcare RCM buy-side activity and Seattle middle-market sponsors.

Background

Nicholas E. "Nick" Ferrer is a partner in Seattle and cochair of the firm-wide mergers and acquisitions practice at Ashurst Perkins Coie, the top-20 global firm created when Ashurst and Perkins Coie combined in June 2026. He earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2007 and spent 2007-2012 as an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York before moving to the Pacific Northwest. His practice covers acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, growth equity and control investments, joint ventures and cross-border deals for repeat strategic acquirers, middle-market private equity sponsors, family offices and founder-owned businesses across technology, healthcare, consumer/retail, business services and niche manufacturing.

Notable deals

  • 2026
    Co-led the Perkins Coie team advising Avalara on its acquisition of Versori, an integration platform building automated connectors with agentic AI, alongside partner Arian Galavis.
  • 2025
    Advised R1, the healthcare revenue-cycle automation platform, on its agreement to acquire UK-based Phare Health Ltd, an AI-native inpatient coding and clinical documentation company.
  • 2025
    Co-led the M&A team representing Seattle real estate advisory firm Seneca Group in its merger with Cumming Group, alongside partner Stewart Landefeld.

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Partner in Seattle and cochair of the firm-wide M&A practice at Ashurst Perkins Coie, formed when Ashurst and Perkins Coie combined in June 2026 (~3,000 lawyers, 52 offices, Seattle a flagship hub).
  • Columbia Law J.D. 2007; Simpson Thacher associate in New York 2007-2012. Chambers USA ranked for Corporate/M&A 2024-2026 ("Up and Coming" in 2023); Best Lawyers 2026.

Current focus

  • Buy-side strategic acquisitions, middle-market sponsor deals, LBOs, growth equity and cross-border execution across tech, healthcare, consumer and niche manufacturing.
  • Healthcare RCM is a real lane, not a one-off: he led the Perkins Coie team on R1's $675M acquisition of Acclara from Providence (December 2023) and advised R1 again on its October 2025 purchase of Phare Health.

Recent moves

  • Co-led Avalara/Versori (March 2026) and Seneca Group/Cumming Group (October 2025).
  • R1 has been TowerBrook/CD&R-owned since the $8.9B take-private closed November 2024, so his R1 work is now sponsor-backed platform M&A rather than public-company deal work.

Sensitivities

  • He is R1's outside counsel: assume he cannot discuss R1, its pipeline or adjacent targets. Keep the conversation market-level.
  • Post-merger integration is fresh; practice titles, staffing and conflicts checks may still be settling.
  • Avoid the 2025 executive-order litigation involving the legacy Perkins Coie firm.

Ask him

  1. How are sponsor-owned RCM platforms sequencing AI tuck-ins versus building coding automation in-house?
  2. What is actually diligenceable on an AI-native coding target's accuracy and payer-acceptance claims?
  3. Which founder-owned RCM and health-IT businesses in Seattle and the UK are seeing inbound but have not yet run a process?

Outreach draft

Subject
Healthcare RCM market view — 20 minutes?
Nick — I work on deal sourcing at [Firm], where we invest in healthcare revenue cycle and provider technology. Your work on R1's Acclara and Phare Health acquisitions puts you closer to how RCM platforms actually buy AI capability than almost anyone we could call. I'm not asking about any client situation. I'd value 20 minutes on the market itself: how founder-owned coding and RCM businesses are being valued right now, whether cross-border targets are getting easier or harder to underwrite, and what tends to break in diligence on AI-native vendors. Happy to work around your calendar, and glad to share what we're seeing in return. Best, [Your name]

Linked companies

Sources