2016 Home Health and Hospice Deals Picked Up

After a rough 2015, when the M&A bubble burst in this sector, deal volume in 2016 showed signs of recovery. Fifty-seven deals were announced in 2016, a 12% increase compared with the previous year. A few companies accounted for several deals. Jordan Health Services, a portfolio company of Palladium Equity Partners, led with five transactions. Epic Health Services, a portfolio company of Webster Capital, announced four deals, as did Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND). The latter company surprised many observers with its announcement that it was leaving the skilled nursing space to concentrate more on long-term acute care hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. We expect at least a... Read More »

Bain Capital Expands its Pediatric Home Health Platform

In less than a month, Bain Capital Private Equity has built a major pediatric home health care platform. It began on December 19,  2016, with Bain’s announcement that it was acquiring Dallas, Texas-based Epic Health Services, from Webster Capital. On January 17, 2017, the global private equity firm announced a deal for Atlanta, Georgia-based PSA Healthcare, sold by J.H. Whitney Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed in either deal. J.H. Whitney acquired PSA Healthcare, then known as Pediatric Services of America, Inc., in March 2015, for an undisclosed price. PSA specialized in caring for medically fragile children at home, caring for more than 2,500 patients through 65... Read More »

Good-Bye, ACA. Now What?

And so it begins. A new year, a new administration, and a foreboding that things can and will go wildly out of control in the healthcare industry, as the new administration dismantles the Affordable Care Act and doesn’t bother to replace it. Judging from the market’s behavior since the November 8 election, the notion that a Hillary Clinton victory was “baked in” to every healthcare deal doesn’t hold. Certainly some deals may have been put on hold following Donald Trump’s election, but 2016 ended with 1,536 deals, in our preliminary count. That’s 1% higher than 2015, which was the first year to break 1,500 transactions. Spending on deals in 2016, while not in record territory, was healthy.... Read More »

Home Health Sector Closes 2016 in ‘Epic’ Deal

The year is ending on a high note for mergers and acquisitions in the Home Health & Hospice sector. Deal volume reached 54 transactions by mid-December, and could go higher as we finish up the year. Last year ended with 51 transactions. Consolidation continued, as buyers such as Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) and Epic Health Services announced four acquisitions apiece. Three other companies, Almost Family (NASDAQ: AFAM), Jordan Health Services and PSA Healthcare, each made three acquisitions. Eight private equity firms made nine deals. Blue Wolf Capital Partners was the sole firm to announce two in this sector. Deal value wasn’t as impressive in 2016, but that is because some of... Read More »

Home Health & Hospice M&A Rebounds

There’s nothing sleepy about the Home Health & Hospice sector. Through the end of July 2016, this market has seen 35 transactions, putting this year on track to beat 2015’s total of 51 deals. Eleven of these 35 deals disclosed prices, totaling approximately $610 million spent so far this year. Sixty-percent of 2016’s home health & hospice acquirers have been other home health & hospice companies, with the busiest players being LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) and privately held Jordan Health Services with two and three acquisitions, respectively. Five separate private equity firms announced five acquisitions, and Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) announced four acquisitions in this... Read More »