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Private Equity Health Care Acquisitions – April 2022

May 5, 2022

In light of the growing investor interest in healthcare and the risks associated with private equity ownership of healthcare companies, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project will be tracking private equity-backed healthcare acquisitions. Below is a list of private equity healthcare buyouts and add-on acquisitions completed or announced during April 2022. We will continue to track acquisitions on a monthly basis.

See March 2022 acquisitions here.

Kindred at Home

Private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CDR) struck a deal with Humana to buy a 60% stake in its hospice and personal care business Kindred at Home (KAH) for $2.8 billion.[1] KAH is one of the largest home health and hospice care providers in the US, with approximately 43,000 employees.[2]

Humana has owned KAH since 2018, when it purchased a 40% ownership stake in the company alongside private equity firms Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) and TPG Capital, which held the remaining 60% stake. Then in 2021, Humana bought out the private equity firms’ shares for $5.7 billion.[3]

CDR’s acquisition of KAH marks another significant step in private equity’s growing footprint in the hospice industry. Between 2011 and 2020 private-equity-driven hospice deals rose nearly 25%.[4] Hospice care in the US is now dominated by for-profit providers, which in 2017 made up about two-thirds of all hospices compared to fewer than a third in 2000.[5]

For-profit ownership of hospice companies has been linked to lower standards of care, fewer patient visits, higher hospitalization rates and poorer pay than their nonprofit counterparts.[6]

In a March 2022 report, Private Equity at Home: Wall Street’s Incursion into the Home Healthcare and Hospice Industries, PESP wrote: “Private equity’s increased involvement in for-profit home healthcare and hospice companies may exacerbate the aforementioned issues due to the industry’s focus on profit maximization — sometimes at the expense of good stewardship —and therefore should garner more scrutiny by those concerned about the quality of our healthcare system.”[7]

Private equity ownership of hospice companies has also attracted scrutiny from lawmakers. Last summer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) opened an investigation into quality of care issues at PE-owned hospice companies that centered on KAH.[8]

In a letter to Kindred at Home, the Senators wrote: “We are concerned that when applied to hospice care, the private equity model of generating profit on a rapid turnaround can occur at the expense of dying patients and their families.” The Senators requested quality indicators at KAH over time and information about private equity ownership and activities between 2017 and 2021, when it was owned by Humana, TPG, and WCAS. [9] The results of the investigation have not been publicized.

See: “Private Equity at Home: Wall Street’s Incursion into the Home Healthcare and Hospice Industries

April PE Buyouts

CompanyTypePE Firm(s)
Natus MedicalMedical devicesArchiMed
Braces by GarciaDentalBeecken Petty O’Keefe & Company
iOR PartnersEye careC3 Capital
Kindred at Home (Hospice and Personal Care Business Divisions)Home health, hospiceClayton, Dubilier & Rice
Perlman ClinicUrgent careFFL Partners
NationsBenefitsBenefits administrationGeneral Atlantic, The Pritzker Organization and Denali Growth
Allegheny Health NetworkHospitals/health systemsGraham Healthcare Capital
Vision Innovation PartnersEye careGryphon Investors
Proven Behavior SolutionsBehavioral healthHealth Enterprise Partners
Aloe Care HealthMedical devicesHepco Capital Management
Forefront DermatologyDermatologyPartners Group, OMERS Private Equity
SOC TelemedTelehealth, health techPatient Square Capital
Etain HealthMedical marijuanaRIV Capital
Tivity HealthWellnessStone Point Capital
Intelligent Medical ObjectsHealth techThomas H. Lee Partners
Professional Health Care NetworkBenefits administrationVistria Group
Beacon Specialized Living ServicesBehavioral healthVistria Group

April Add-On Acquisitions

CompanyTypePE Firm(s)Add-on Platform
SmartBox DentalDental424 Capital, Eagle Private Capital, HealthEdge Investment Partnersitrac
Armco PartnersRevenue cycle managementA&M Capital, FS KKR Capital BDC, KKR Private CreditMed-Metrix
Rapid GenomicsBiotechAbu Dhabi Investment Authority, Astorg, Cinven, Omnes CapitalLGC
ARx (Franklin)Revenue cycle managementAquiline Capital PartnersAspirion Health Resources
Tennessee Blood ServicesCommercial blood bankAres Management, Linden Capital PartnersBioIVT
Shady Grove OrthopaedicsOrthopaedicsAtlantic Street Capital, Capital Southwest BDCOrthoBethesda
ArtelMedical suppliesAuburn Hill Capital, HarbourVest Partners and Patricia IndustriesAdvanced Instruments
Crankfrog (Washington)Health techAudax GroupThe Chartis Group
Triangle Insights GroupHealthcare consultingAudax Group, Odyssey Investment PartnersTrialCard
DryShieldDentalAvista Capital PartnersSolmetex
SterisilMedical suppliesAvista Capital PartnersSolmetex
Dermatology Physicians GroupDermatologyBayPinePinnacle Dermatology
California Cancer Associates for Research & ExcellenceOncologyBPEA Private Equity, Harris Preston & Partners, Silver Oak Services PartnersIntegrated Oncology Network
The Estate at River BendBehavioral healthCentre PartnersBradford Health Services
Swan Dental LabDentalCerberus Capital ManagementNational Dentex
Abiding Home Health (Texas Business)Home health, hospiceColtala Holdings, Trive CapitalChoice Health at Home
Accountable Care Medical GroupPractice managementCrestline InvestorsGenuine Health Group
Pursue HealthPractice management, hospiceDorilton CapitalTraditions Health
Serenity Home HealthHome health, hospiceDorilton CapitalTraditions Health
SoCal Anesthesia SolutionsAnesthesiaEnhanced Healthcare PartnersSynergy Health Partners
Vasta GlobalClinical researchEverstone Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset ManagementOmega Healthcare Management Services
Fresno Physical TherapyPhysical therapyGeneral Atlantic, TowerBrook Capital PartnersPT Solutions
TheraOfficePractice managementGI Partners, TA Associates ManagementNetsmart Technologies
RhithmHealth techGolden Gate CapitalSecurly
CryologicsBiotechGranite Equity PartnersMicrobiologics
Greenfield Physical Therapy & Sports MedicinePhysical therapyH.I.G. CapitalCORA Health Services
Lava Physical TherapyPhysical therapyH.I.G. CapitalCORA Health Services
Maragh Dermatology, Surgery and Vein InstituteDermatologyHarvest PartnersAdvanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery
International Biomedical (Glove Division)Medical suppliesHKWInfab
CureClickClinical trialsJLL Partners, Water Street Healthcare PartnersTHREAD
OrganixCROKeensight CapitalSymeres
United RheumatologyPractice managementLinden Capital PartnersUroGPO
Connecticut Dermatology GroupDermatologyLLR Partners, LNK Partners, Zenyth PartnersSchweiger Dermatology Group
Biomed DiagnosticsMedical devicesMartis CapitalDCN Diagnostics
Third Street OpticalEye careMonarch Alternative CapitalShopko Eyecare Center
InnoVision EyecareEye careMonarch Alternative CapitalShopko Eyecare Center
Gateway Dental GroupDentalNew MainStream CapitalCordental Group
conversationHEALTHTelehealth, health techNew Mountain CapitalReal Chemistry (San Francisco)
Dental Lab AestheticsDentalO2 Investment PartnersFrontier Dental Laboratories
Vascular Access ConsultantsVascular careRiverGlade CapitalDynamic Infusion Therapy
AneltoMedical devicesRock Ventures, Rockbridge Growth EquityConnect America
West Central Family And CounselingBehavioral healthShore Capital PartnersTransformations Care Network
CytoSMARTBiotechSumma EquityAxion Biosystems
Hospice SelectHospiceSweetwater Private Equity, Webster Equity PartnersBristol Hospice
Hope Hospice (Missouri)HospiceSweetwater Private Equity, Webster Equity PartnersBristol Hospice
WellViaBehavioral health, telehealthThe Cambria GroupRecuro Health
Amplify AdditiveMedical devicesThe Jordan CompanyArch Global Precision
Endodontic AssociatesDentalVSSEndo 1 Partners
Corning (Gentest Business Unit)BiopharmaWater Street Healthcare PartnersDiscovery Life Sciences
Associated Vitreoretinal and Uveitis ConsultantsEye careWebster Equity PartnersRetina Consultants of America
Retina Center NorthwestEye careWebster Equity PartnersRetina Consultants of America

[1]https://www.cdr-inc.com/news/press-release/cdr-acquire-humana-home-hospice-and-personal-care-divisions

[2] Pitchbook, accessed April 2022.

[3]https://homehealthcarenews.com/2021/04/humana-to-acquire-all-of-kindred-at-home-divest-hospice-and-community-care-operations/

[4]https://hospicenews.com/2021/03/26/private-equity-investment-in-hospice-hits-all-time-high-valuations-rising/.

[5]https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-10.pdf

[6]https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-10.pdf

[7]https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Home-Healthcare-and-Hospice-report.pdf

[8]https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-brown-warren-probe-private-equity-ownership-of-kindred-at-home

[9]https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/080621%20Wyden%20Brown%20Warren%20Kindred%20Hospice%20Private%20Equity%20Letter.pdf

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