Another Day in the Office for Webster Capital

The PE firm continues its healthcare-services platform expansion with an add-on and refinancing of an existing portfolio company. Webster’s David Malm discusses the activity.

Private equity firm Webster Capital continues to build out its healthcare-services strategy, announcing portfolio company Epic Health Services’ add-on acquisition of Unifour Nursing and a $130M refinancing to support portfolio company Behavior Health Holdings’ acquisition of MedMark Services.

Terms of the Unifour deal were not disclosed by David Malm, co-managing partner of Waltham, Mass.–based Webster Capital, in an interview with Privcap.

Webster Capital acquired Epic Health Services in September 2010 and has been expanding the platform business at a rapid rate, making more than a dozen add-on acquisitions since then, according to Malm. Epic Health Services, founded in 2001, provides pediatric skilled nursing, therapy, and autism services in addition to a variety of adult home healthcare services such as personal care and behavioral health nursing.

Established more than 30 years ago, Unifour provides personalized at-home healthcare options such as an array of adult and pediatric services, including private-duty nursing and personal-care services.

Given the synergies between the two businesses, it is easy to see why Webster was attracted to Unifour. As part of the integration process, Unifour President Darius Nouri will transition into a regional operations position where he will oversee North Carolina operations and facilitate further growth and expansion.

Headquartered in Dallas, Epic Health Services has more than 60 locations throughout the country in 16 states. With the acquisition of North Carolina–based Unifour, Epic Health Services now has a new foothold in the southeastern part of the United States, where the company plans to expand even further.

“We have a strategy to consolidate the industry,” Malm says.

Coming on the heels of the Unifour transaction, Webster Capital announced its $130M refinancing to support portfolio company Behavioral Health Holdings’ acquisition of MedMark, an addiction-treatment and primary-care services provider. The capital infusion from Fifth Street Asset Management will also be used to refinance Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment (BAART), a subsidiary of Behavioral Health. With the deal, MedMark and BAART combined operations.

Webster Capital was founded in 2003 and focuses on the branded consumer and healthcare-services sectors in companies that typically have between $3M and $15M in EBITDA. The firm currently has $600M in assets under management and is deploying capital from Fund III, a $400M vehicle raised in 2014.