Mergers and acquisitions in the behavioral health care sector have picked up significantly in April and May. Although only eight deals were announced in the first quarter of 2016, nine more have come along in just the past six weeks.
Four have been announced in the first 10 days of May, beginning with Acadia Healthcare Company (NASDAQ: ACHC) and its acquisition of TrustPoint Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee from privately-held Polaris Hospital Company. TrustPoint is a 129-bed facility, and since the deal closed on May 1, Acadia has filed a certificate of need for another 100 beds.
Moving north to Buffalo, New York, two not-for-profits merged to become one of the largest community-based behavioral health organizations in western New York. Lake Shore Behavioral Health, which provides mental health and substance abuse counselling, joined Child & Adolescent Treatment Services, which focuses on mental health challenges in children ages 3 to 21. The new organization, as yet unnamed, will employ 525 people.
The third deal took place in Scandanavia, as Humana AB (STO: HUM) in Stockholm, Sweden agreed to pay $36.7 million (EUR 32 million) for Arjessa, a leading Finnish psycho-social care provider for children and adults. Humana AB is playing out its strategy to become the leading Nordic behavioral health care provider. Arjessa was sold by private equity firm Sentica Partners Oy and a number of private investors.
See our earlier post on the MedOptions acquisition of Vericare, a geriatric behavioral health company serving skilled nursing facilities.
