Cogent Healthcare is merging with like-sized competitor Hospitalists Management Group to form the largest private hospitalist company in the country.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is being financed by private equity firm AEA Investors. AEA purchased Ohio-based HMG in 2010 for an estimated $95 million.

The combined entity, dubbed Cogent-HMG, will be based in Brentwood and maintain an office in HMG’s headquarters city of Canton. Stephen Houff, founder and CEO of HMG, will be CEO of the company, and Cogent President and CEO Gene Fleming will be its full-time executive chairman.

“This is a natural and complementary partnership that will enable our two similarly-sized companies to benefit from each other’s expertise and success,” Fleming said in a statement.

Cogent-HMG will have nearly 1,000 affiliated hospitalists and extenders practicing in more than 100 health care facilities in 27 states and focus on adding hospital and health system clients of all sizes. HMG, founded in 1993, currently partners with small- to mid-sized hospitals in suburban and rural markets, and Cogent has focused on medium- to large-sized hospitals.

“Together, we will have a stronger platform to help hospitals meet health care reform demands mandating greater transparency, quality and cost efficiency,” Houff said. “The combined company will focus on creating closer alignment between hospitals and physicians, which will be necessary in light of reimbursement changes and ultimately accountable care. Our scale will allow for significant investment in clinical support, physician recruiting and technology to position us to better help our clients adapt to evolving markets.”

Cogent was founded in 1997 and moved to Nashville from California ten years later. The currently employs about 130 workers at its Brentwood headquarters — a figure will grow significantly after the companies management teams are combined.

For comparison, publicly traded industry giant IPC The Hospitalist Company (Ticker: IPCM) employed more than 1,200 hospitalists at the end of 2010 and more than 1,700 workers in total. It provides services in 345 hospitals and 440 other inpatient and post-acute care facilities in 22 states.