Bristol Hospice, a hospice services provider based in Salt Lake City, Utah, announced the acquisition of Missouri-based Hope Hospice, a locally-owned, community based hospice provider, for an undisclosed sum in the company’s first deal of the year, and marks Bristol’s entry into the Missouri market. This acquisition follows nine acquisitions during 2020 and 14 in total since private equity firm Webster Equity Partners purchased Bristol Hospice in 2017.
Hope Hospice in St. Louis was established in the early 2000s. Discussions of a possible sale began in late 2020 with its M&A advisors Agenda Health. The deal reflects the growing importance of established community relationships and reputation when it comes to hospice M&A, according to Alex Veach of Agenda Health.
Bristol Hospice, a portfolio company of Webster Equity Partners, was founded in 2006. The hospice operates more than 45 locations across 13 states, and its EBITDA exceeds $70 million, according to PE Hub. The company completed nine acquisitions during 2020 and 14 in total since Webster purchased the agency in 2017.
Agenda Health served as M&A advisors to Hope Hospice in the sale. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The past couple years, hospice buyers have been showing more interest in Missouri due to favorable demographic trends. The proportion of seniors older than 65 in Missouri’s population is expected to reach 19.1% by 2025, up from 13.5% in 2000 and 13.6% in 2008, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Additionally, Hospice utilization in Missouri reached 50.2% among Medicare decedents in 2018, which is in line with that year’s national average, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
According to the LevinPro HC database, this marks the 25th announced transaction in the Home Health and Hospice (HH&H) sector so far this year. The HH&H sector remained steady throughout 2021, coming in at 143 total deals, 26 of which were seen during Q1 of 2021. Considering the strong showing we’ve already seen in 2022, we don’t expect the market to slow down anytime soon.
