The firm’s Healthcare team’s representation of Prospect Medical’s $708 million sale of certain assets and its physician business to Astrana Health earned a “Deal of the Year” award during the Los Angeles Business Journal’s second annual M&A Awards. Members of Sheppard’s Healthcare team received the award a private, invitation-only event on September 10, 2026, in downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Business Journal’s annual awards program recognizes the dealmakers, advisors and corporate teams behind the most significant mergers, acquisitions and strategic transactions in Los Angeles.
Led by partner Nioura Ghazni, this highly complex transaction created a national healthcare delivery platform benefitting 1.7 million members and coincided with the bankruptcy of Prospect’s hospital business, which involved tight timelines and active engagement by multiple lenders. Entering the auction for Prospect's ambulatory surgery and imaging centers with a $10 million bid, the team’s strategic negotiations during the bankruptcy proceedings ultimately secured $50.3 million—a fivefold increase that generated substantial debt recovery for Prospect and its stakeholders and helped preserve important healthcare assets in a distressed environment.
The transaction created a lasting impact by helping preserve and expand access to coordinated healthcare services across Southern California while strengthening Astrana Health’s position as a national value-based care platform. Through the acquisition of Prospect’s managed care physician business and related healthcare assets, including a fully accredited acute care hospital with 177 licensed beds, Astrana significantly expanded its provider network, patient reach and care-delivery capabilities. The deal supported continuity of care for patients, physicians and health plan partners during a highly complex period for Prospect, including the concurrent bankruptcy of its hospital business.
This is the second recognition this transaction has earned this year. The firm received a “Special Situation M&A Deal of the Year” award in the Large Markets category as part of Global M&A Network’s 2026 Turnaround Atlas Awards.
Ghazni led a deal team that included Eric Klein, Matthew Goldman, Jordan Grushkin, Babak Yousefzadeh, Brian Fong, Megan Rooney, Keith Gercken, Rick Rifenbark, Michael Orlando, Jared Nagley, Tim Reimers, Edward Musharbash, Taylor Holmes, Kanasha Herbert, Alexandria Foster, Jami Fogelhut, Krysten Thomas, Christina Nguyen and Maximilian Fuery.
Sheppard’s Healthcare team was also well represented across the awards program. Aytan Dahukey was a nominee for the “Dealmaker of the Year” Award and Eric Klein’s representation of Ascension Health in its acquisition of AMSURG was a contender for “Deal of the Year.”
Sheppard was one of the night’s big winners, earning honors across multiple categories, including a second “Deal of the Year” award for the firm’s representation of Village Roadshow in its bankruptcy and sale to Alcon Media Group. In addition, Larry Braun received the most prestigious individual recognition of the night—the “M&A Icon of the Year” Award.
The Los Angeles Business Journal’s annual awards program recognizes the dealmakers, advisors and corporate teams behind the most significant mergers, acquisitions and strategic transactions in Los Angeles.
Led by partner Nioura Ghazni, this highly complex transaction created a national healthcare delivery platform benefitting 1.7 million members and coincided with the bankruptcy of Prospect’s hospital business, which involved tight timelines and active engagement by multiple lenders. Entering the auction for Prospect's ambulatory surgery and imaging centers with a $10 million bid, the team’s strategic negotiations during the bankruptcy proceedings ultimately secured $50.3 million—a fivefold increase that generated substantial debt recovery for Prospect and its stakeholders and helped preserve important healthcare assets in a distressed environment.
The transaction created a lasting impact by helping preserve and expand access to coordinated healthcare services across Southern California while strengthening Astrana Health’s position as a national value-based care platform. Through the acquisition of Prospect’s managed care physician business and related healthcare assets, including a fully accredited acute care hospital with 177 licensed beds, Astrana significantly expanded its provider network, patient reach and care-delivery capabilities. The deal supported continuity of care for patients, physicians and health plan partners during a highly complex period for Prospect, including the concurrent bankruptcy of its hospital business.
This is the second recognition this transaction has earned this year. The firm received a “Special Situation M&A Deal of the Year” award in the Large Markets category as part of Global M&A Network’s 2026 Turnaround Atlas Awards.
Ghazni led a deal team that included Eric Klein, Matthew Goldman, Jordan Grushkin, Babak Yousefzadeh, Brian Fong, Megan Rooney, Keith Gercken, Rick Rifenbark, Michael Orlando, Jared Nagley, Tim Reimers, Edward Musharbash, Taylor Holmes, Kanasha Herbert, Alexandria Foster, Jami Fogelhut, Krysten Thomas, Christina Nguyen and Maximilian Fuery.
Sheppard’s Healthcare team was also well represented across the awards program. Aytan Dahukey was a nominee for the “Dealmaker of the Year” Award and Eric Klein’s representation of Ascension Health in its acquisition of AMSURG was a contender for “Deal of the Year.”
Sheppard was one of the night’s big winners, earning honors across multiple categories, including a second “Deal of the Year” award for the firm’s representation of Village Roadshow in its bankruptcy and sale to Alcon Media Group. In addition, Larry Braun received the most prestigious individual recognition of the night—the “M&A Icon of the Year” Award.