The private equity firm Linden Capital Partners has acquired hospice provider Agape Care Group from Ridgemont Equity Partners for an undisclosed amount.
Linden is a large, health care-focused investment firm that has infused its portfolio companies with more than $5 billion in aggregate since its founding in 2004. The firm also has $13.5 billion in regulatory assets under management. The Agape acquisition took place in July and was not publicly announced, though the hospice is now listed on Linden’s website as a portfolio company. Agape Care Group did not immediately respond to Hospice News’ inquiries about the transaction.
Agape’s more than 2,100 employees provide hospice and palliative care to over 5,700 patients daily across 10 states. Agape’s previous owner, Ridgemont Equity Partners, acquired the company from the private equity firm the Vistria Group in 2019.
Large platform transactions like the Agape-Linden deal have become a rarity during the past few years, as the hospice M&A market slumped. However, a number of assets that were acquired by private equity in the record-breaking years in 2020 and 2021 are now reaching maturity and will likely come up for sale. Hospice News is seeking confirmation on two additional unannounced private equity platform deals.
Private equity investors typically grow their acquired assets through a “roll up” strategy, in which they purchase a large platform and use it as a foothold to absorb smaller companies. Ridgemont applied this methodology while Agape was under their ownership. Between 2019 and 2024, the company completed at least seven transactions.
In 2024, Agape Care Group CEO Troy Yarborough outlined the company’s approach to acquisitions.
“We’re looking for creative opportunities to buy good cultures, good businesses that fit into our family and help either densify in markets or help us enter the states that I outlined in the Southeast quadrant …,” Yarborough told Hospice News. “We’re big on creating identities in the communities that we serve, and the way that we do that is we have branches that are more sizable with larger numbers of employees that give us faster response time and make us a better provider.”
The M&A market for healthcare companies continues to build on STRATEGIC opportunities and a fragmented market. Consolidations along with unprecedented demand are driving scale across the continuum of care. The strategic corporate buyers and private equity investors remain committed to acquiring strong businesses that are well prepared for a transaction. Across the continuum of care, these buyers and investors are looking for well established, profitable businesses and offering prime valuations and options for management.
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