Surgery Partners (Nasdaq: SGRY) is rumored to be exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. But that doesn’t mean it’s coming out of acquisition mode.

According to a post from legal firm Husch Blackwell, Surgery Partners recently worked with the Orthopedic Institute of Wisconsin to acquire 14 Wisconsin-based practice groups and two ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).

“Partners Tom Shorter and Jack Enea led the deal, which brings broad network access and value to patients and physicians through a consolidated delivery model that will provide improved quality and better access to care in a more affordable manner,” the post reads.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based Surgery Partners has over 180 locations in 33 states, including ASCs, surgical hospitals, multi-specialty physician practices and urgent care facilities. As of January 2024, Surgery Partners had at least 139 ASCs, making it one of the largest ASC chains in the country.

In July, a report surfaced claiming that Surgery Partners was on the market, already engaging a financial adviser to evaluate buyout interest.

Surgery Partners has long been bullish about its ASC arm.

“As previously stated, our short-stay surgical facilities have been purpose-built to capture the macro tailwinds of both an aging population and the increased movement of higher-acuity procedures into a purpose-built outpatient setting,” Surgery Partners Executive Chairman Wayne DeVeydt said during the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call. “We believe our results reflect the strength and durability of our business model as we pursue this highly fragmented segment, which currently consists of over 6,000 ambulatory surgical facilities and an estimated $150 billion total addressable market, representing both current and expected surgical procedures to be performed in an outpatient setting in the coming years.”

DeVeydt is a managing director at Bain Capital.

During that Q1 call, Surgery Partners executives projected that the company would spend more than $200 million in the second quarter of 2024 on its “robust pipeline” of M&A opportunities.

“We closed on the majority of our targeted acquisitions on April 30, representing five different transactions, including a large system acquisition that includes a specialty surgical hospital, ambulatory surgical center and related physician practices,” CEO Eric Evans said on the call.