Agenda Health, a healthcare-focused M&A advisory firm based in Austin, Texas, advised It’s About Time (IAT) in its acquisition by Community Based Care (CBC). Agenda Health’s mission is to deliver consistent results with a faith-based, Christ-centered focus.
Based in Roanoke, Virginia, IAT provides support and personal assistance (including day support, group home and supportive in-home services) for those with developmental disabilities.
CBC provides home and community-based services through its family of provider agencies across the country. The company provides programs and support for individuals with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities from birth to the end of life. CBC employs more than 3,500 caregivers and serves nearly 3,000 clients in North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Rhode Island.
Alex Veach, Director of Transactions Services at Agenda Health, shared insights into the transaction process and the factors that contributed to its success:
“We were engaged by IAT to bring the business to market. We ran a competitive market process to identify the best party to carry on the seller’s business, and landed with CBC resulting from that.”
Veach also highlighted the smoothness of the acquisition process, attributing it to the strong alignment of values and culture between the two entities:
“We had a very smooth due diligence process on this transaction. There is a lot of cultural alignment between the two groups that allowed for a very smooth transaction process.”
Delving into CBC’s decision to acquire It’s About Time, Veach emphasized the strategic fit:
“From our perspective, IAT fit perfectly into CBC’s desire to expand their footprint. IAT is known for their emphasis on providing quality services in their communities, which yielded great interest from buyers we engaged in the process, and was a huge driver for CBC’s decision to acquire the business.”
According to Veach, IAT was performing well financially and experiencing growth before the acquisition. Although further financial terms were not disclosed, the acquisition signals a positive step toward expanding services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD).
The acquisition of IAT marks the third behavioral healthcare provider acquired in Virginia this year, reflecting the state’s robust activity within the behavioral health M&A market. Another player with a strong interest in Virginia acquisitions is Health Connect America, a portfolio company of private equity firm Palladium Equity Partners, which secured two Virginia-based counseling providers (Richmond-based First Home Care and Kissimmee-based North Star Counseling of Central Florida) in February at undisclosed values.
According to data captured in the LevinPro HC database, there have been 48 Behavioral Health Care (BHC) and five I/DD transactions announced YTD. During Q2:23, there were 18 deals announced in the BHC space, representing a 10% decrease from the previous quarter, and a 28% decrease from Q2:22. After a very busy 2022, with 111 BHC deals announced, and seven in the I/DD subsector, the M&A market within the sector continues to slow.
These figures indicate a shifting landscape within the industry, with a recent decline in deal volume suggesting a recalibration after a record high of 127 BHC transactions announced in 2021. BHC M&A activity will most likely continue to slide in 2023 as this trend continues into the later half of the year. Despite the recent drop, the global BHC market size is still expected to continue to grow and is projected to surpass $293 billion by 2032 from $152 billion in 2022 and expand at a CAGR of 6.78% during the same forecast period, according to a market report from Precedence Research.
