Multiple behavioral health operators announced transactions this week.

On Tuesday, GRAND Mental Health announced that it has merged with 12&12 Inc., effective July 1. The same day, Acute Behavioral Health Inc. announced that it completed its acquisition of Hallmark Youthcare.

Both transactions reflect the piping hot M&A landscape across behavioral health, mental health and addiction-recovery spaces. Overall health care dealmaking fell in the first half of 2022, with behavioral health being the only subsector where strategic deal volume grew.

“Whether it’s talk therapy, or more intensive behavioral health or IDD, work or etc., there seems to be a desire on folk’s part to continue to aggregate kind of fragmented assets and bring them together,” Dr. Ross R. Nelson, national health care strategy leader and principal at KPMG, previously told Behavioral Health Business.

Established in 1979, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based GRAND provides services for a range of patients dealing with behavioral health and substance use issues, in addition to other conditions. The operator works across 22 clinics in 13 counties throughout Northcentral and Northeastern Oklahoma.

Following the merger, 12&12 has rebranded to GRAND Addiction Recovery Center. The organization offers solutions for adults battling addiction, or living with co-existing mental health and substance use disorders.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“At GRAND Addiction Mental Health, our vision is to deliver an entirely new model of care in Tulsa that centers on two critical bedrocks: easier access to treatment and better long-term health outcomes,” GRAND Mental Health CEO Larry Smith said in a statement. “Bringing these services under the GRAND umbrella allows us to better support and treat the thousands of Oklahomans who are struggling.”

GRAND Addiction Recovery Center will offer multiple levels of treatment, ranging from medically supervised detoxification and intensive residential treatment, to transitional living and sober living for homeless veterans in recovery.

Post-merger, GRAND has over 1,600 employees.

Acute Behavioral Health making moves

Also on Tuesday, the Nashville, Tennessee-based Acute Behavioral Health (ABH) finalized the acquisition of Hallmark Youthcare, the largest short-term residential treatment program in Virginia, for an undisclosed sum.

The acquired assets consist of 82 inpatient psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) beds for young people with behavioral and mental health needs, according to the company.

“The acquisition of Hallmark provides a unique opportunity for Acute Behavioral Health to expand its footprint in Virginia,” CEO Mike McCulla said in a press release. “Hallmark’s 46-year history of providing quality care and services focused on reuniting patients with their families aligns well with ABH’s development vision and operating model.”

ABH is a health care platform of inpatient PRTFs and outpatient behavioral health programs for younger individuals.

The company was formed with an initial investment from Petra Capital Partners and Harbert Credit Solutions, in partnership with Elm Creek Partners and Granite Growth Health Partners.