Deloitte Corporate Finance announced it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Health Management Resources Corporation (HMR) in a collaboration with Merck & Co.

Announced previously in December, the collaboration resulted in the launch of a new business focused on providing comprehensive, evidence-based weight management interventions for employers, hospitals, medical groups, health plans and patients. The new organization, called HMR Weight Management Services Corp., brings together the capabilities of Merck and HMR. HMR Weight Management Services will operate as a subsidiary of Merck. HMR will continue to operate as an independent organization and will provide key support to HMR Weight Management Services.

“DCF’s industry experience truly added value throughout the process. The team’s long-term commitment to HMR and our goals as a company enabled us to achieve an outstanding outcome. DCF’s experience and understanding of strategic opportunities involving privately held businesses was instrumental in completing this transaction,” said Dr. Lawrence Stifler, founder of HMR.

“HMR’s customer service, weight management products and dedication to tracking patient data have helped to establish the company as a leader in medical weight management. Merck intends to leverage the combined capabilities of Merck and HMR in order to expand the operations of HMR Weight Management Services Corporation by tapping international markets and delivering products and services through new channels,” said Dave Vorhoff, managing director, Deloitte Corporate Finance, and co-head of its Life Sciences and Healthcare group.

HMR is a provider of medical weight management programs and related products.

Merck is a global healthcare provider.