Transactions: HCA Selling Behavioral Hospital; New Acquisitions from BrightView, Stepping Stones

Vertava Health acquires Integrated Addiction Care Associates

Vertava Health has announced it has purchased outpatient behavioral health provider Integrated Addiction Care Associates (IAC), in a move that brings together two Tennessee operators. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

IAC offers medication-assisted treatment (MAT), intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and primary care services to residents in Memphis — where it is headquartered — as well as nearby Jackson and Covington.

The acquisition boosts Nashville-based Vertava’s presence in Tennessee and comes after the company recently opened multiple outpatient behavioral health and wellness facilities in its home state, as well as in Ohio.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Integrated Addiction Care Associates’ renowned team to Vertava Health,” Matt Morgan, CEO of Vertava Health, said in a press release announcing the acquisition. “Broadening Vertava Health’s presence and reach in Memphis and communities in the Midsouth underscores our focus on providing vital care through a full continuum of mental health and substance use services.”

Vertava operates over a dozen facilities across Tennessee, Ohio, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. It has backing from Summit Partners.

Cushman & Wakefield source equity placement for JV behavioral facility

A former sprawling hotel and resort in Phoenix is being converted into a behavioral health campus.

Tempe, Arizona-based construction company Waltz Construction and Phoenix-based New Freedom, an organization that helps individuals who have previously battled substance use disorder (SUD) or were involved in the criminal justice system reenter society, have formed a joint venture (JV) to make it happen.

Cushman & Wakefield worked with both organizations to source a real estate investor to own the real estate and lease it to New Freedom long-term. Ultimately, they sourced an equity placement from the social impact investment firm Turner Impact Capital, whose health care facilities fund is the new owner of the property.

The campus contains 248 rooms, encompasses 142,978 square feet and is worth $17.6 million, according to a press release announcing the news.

HCA Healthcare to sell behavioral care facility

One of the nation’s leading health care companies is reducing its behavioral health footprint.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Coliseum Center for Behavioral Health Hospital in Macon, Georgia, to Piedmont Healthcare, an Atlanta-based nonprofit health system.

The 40-bed inpatient facility is being sold, along with four Georgia-based medical hospitals, to Piedmont in a deal worth approximately $950 million, according to a press release announcing the news.

Citigroup was a financial advisor to HCA on the deal, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals and expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Founded in 1968, Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA operates 186 hospitals and approximately 2,000 ambulatory sites of care in 20 states and the United Kingdom.

Two of HCA’s co-founders were Thomas Frist Sr. and Thomas Frist Jr., the father and brother, respectively, of Bill Frist, who is both formerly the chair of HCA and a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee.

The younger Frist is also a co-founder and partner of Frist Cressey Ventures, a Nashville-based investment firm that has provided funding to behavioral health care providers such as Array Behavioral Care and Spero Health.

BrightView purchases Life Spring Recovery

In a merger of Ohio SUD treatment providers, Cincinnati-based BrightView Health has acquired Columbus-based Life Spring Recovery. Financial details of the transaction were not released.

BrightView operates 34 centers across Ohio and Kentucky, while Life Spring Recovery has four locations across its home state and Delaware. Both providers offer MAT, individual and group therapy, peer recovery support and wraparound social support services to patients.

BrightView’s purchase of Life Spring comes after it acquired the Kentucky-based SUD treatment provider Renew Recovery Centers at the start of the year, adding four facilities to its portfolio.

“Life Spring Recovery has had a profound impact on the lives of more than one thousand patients, and we are excited to build on their patient-first mentality and legacy of quality care,” Shawn Ryan, BrightView’s chief medical officer and co-founder, said in a press release announcing the deal. “We understand the delicate nature of recovery, and we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for each patient, staff member, and community partner.”

BrightView has financial backing from the health care-focused private equity firm Shore Capital Partners.

Stepping Stones acquires Futures Health Group

The Stepping Stones Group, a Boston-based behavioral provider that serves children with autism and other behavioral needs, has purchased the Futures Health Group, a Springfield, Massachusetts-based company that provides therapeutic and behavioral services in schools.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Operating across 42 states, Stepping Stones annually serves over 900 clients and 200,000 children, providing therapeutic, behavioral, autism, nursing and education services in school, home and community settings.

The provider, which was founded in 2014, is a portfolio company of Five Arrows Capital Partners, which is a middle market private equity arm of Rothschild & Co.’s merchant banking line.

Founded in 1998, Futures Health Group serves K-12 children and adolescents, offering services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, special education, nursing and mental health at schools and health care facilities nationwide.

“[Futures’ founder and president] Dr. Erin Edwards and [Futures’ CEO] Dr. Brian Edwards have built a terrific mission-driven organization over the past 20 years,” CEO Tim Murphy said in a press release announcing the transaction. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to expand our service offerings and geographic footprint, particularly in Massachusetts, Michigan and Arizona and enhances our ability to transform the lives of more children.”

Center for Social Dynamics acquires JF Autism Services

In another ASD merger — this time on the other side of the country — the Center for Social Dynamics (CSD), an Alameda, California-based autism treatment provider has acquired fellow autism treatment provider JF Autism Services.

Financial terms of the purchase were not announced.

Founded in 2012, CSD provides applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy to children in home-based settings, serving clients in Northern and Southern California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. CSD is a portfolio company of investment firm NMS Capital.

Meanwhile, JF Autism Services also provides ABA services, serving children and families throughout Idaho and Washington.

“We are thrilled to welcome JF to the CSD family,” Pete Pallares, CSD’s CEO said in a press release announcing the acquisition. “The company, renowned for its focus on treatment design, delivery of care, and patient outcomes, aligns perfectly with our tenets and goals at CSD.”