BrightSpring Health Services and PharMerica are merging to create a national home care business with its own pharmacy services provider under KKR & Co. (NYSE: KKR). Both companies are based in Louisville, Kentucky and will continue to operate from there. Financial terms were not disclosed.
BrightSpring, formerly known as ResCare, was a portfolio company of Onex Corporation (TOR: ONEX). It provides comprehensive home and community-based health services in behavioral health, digital health, hospice and homecare to complex populations in need of specialized care. Onex acquired ResCare way back in March 2004 for $83.4 million.
PharMerica is a specialty pharmacy service provider for the long-term care industry. It traded under the ticker symbol PMDC on the New York Stock Exchange until August 2017, when KKR acquired it for approximately $1.3 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) joined the deal as a minority investor.
Specialty pharmacy has been a busy healthcare segment in 2018. CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) acquired Encompass Rx in July for an undisclosed price. The target is a specialty pharmacy that is licensed in all 50 states. Privately held PharmScript acquired Nashville, Illinois-based Doehring’s LTC Pharmacy in November, also for an undisclosed price.
Neither of these deals quite match the diverse offerings of KKR’s new subsidiary. The merged business will combine BrightSpring’s daily home care services and PharMerica’s national pharmacy platform, serving over 300,000 clients daily in 44 states and Washington D.C.
