JACKSON, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice announced today that Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC will be its new equity partner, replacing Wellspring Capital Management, LLC, its partner since 2014. Great Lakes Caring is one of the largest and highest quality providers of in-home post-acute services in the United States.
William Deary, Chief Executive Officer of Great Lakes Caring, and his management team will continue to lead Great Lakes Caring and have maintained a significant equity stake in the company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Great Lakes Caring, based in Jackson, Michigan, offers a broad range of services within the continuum of in-home health care including home health, hospice, home-based primary care, palliative care and private duty services. The company was founded in 1994 by Cherilyn Deary, and has built its business on a patient-centric commitment to superior quality and innovation. Great Lakes Caring has become one of the highest rated home health and hospice companies in the country, developing and implementing its products and services throughout the Midwest. The company employs more than 2,600 health care professionals in 25 offices, providing superior quality home health care, hospice care, palliative care as well as home-based primary care and private duty services to more than 9,000 patients daily. In 2016, Fortune Magazine selected Great Lakes Caring as one of the 20 Best Workplaces in Health Care in the United States.
Adam Blumenthal, Managing Partner of Blue Wolf, said, “Great Lakes Caring provides a unique opportunity to invest in a platform with documented, industry-leading quality scores as well as a strong and established brand. William Deary and Great Lakes Caring’s world-class management team have a proven track record, and we are excited to collaborate with them to further enhance the value of the business.”
Mr. Deary said, “The Home Health and Hospice industry is poised for consolidation, and Great Lakes Caring will actively participate in this consolidation as we evaluate acquisition opportunities and execute on our internal initiatives. Blue Wolf believes we are an effective platform for both organic and acquisition growth, and has a long track record of supporting service-oriented companies by providing the strategic and financial resources they need to build their businesses. As we reach this next stage in the evolution of Great Lakes Caring, we are very fortunate to welcome new partners who appreciate our success, recognize our potential and are eager to help us reach our goals. The future is very bright for our company and we look forward to continuing to provide the highest level of health care for our patients and the communities we serve.”
Jeremy Kogler, a Principal at Blue Wolf, said, “Great Lakes Caring is well positioned in an attractive market where we expect demographic trends to result in continued growth. This growth will continue to be driven by the company’s longstanding relationships with physicians, facilities and health systems, its quintessential commitment to superior quality and innovative programs, its scalable infrastructure enabled by next generation technology, and the team’s considerable experience integrating businesses. We believe that these and other core strengths will serve Great Lakes Caring very well as we pursue a range of value-building initiatives, including strategic acquisitions.”
Adam Nielsen, President of Great Lakes Caring, said of the partnership: “We are excited to have selected a partner that recognizes the vision and responsibility we have to deliver a value-based a healthcare solution to those we serve. Each of our employees is focused on delivering value to those we come in contact with every day and we believe that the partnership with Blue Wolf will continue to enhance and build upon our vision.”
Greenberg, Traurig served as transaction and regulatory counsel to Blue Wolf. KPMG Transaction Advisory Group provided finance, accounting and tax advice.
About Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC is a private equity firm that specializes in control investments in middle market companies. Leading by experience, and with a commitment to excellence, Blue Wolf transforms companies strategically, operationally and collaboratively. Blue Wolf manages challenging situations and complex relationships between business, customers, employees, unions, and regulators to build value for stakeholders. For additional information, please visits www.bluewolfcapital.com.
About Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice
Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice is one of the nation’s leading providers of a coordinated continuum of health care, consisting of home health, hospice care, palliative, and home-based primary care. Their value-based health care services are delivered with an unparalleled level of quality by a dedicated team of health care professionals. Great Lakes Caring’s primary focus is to provide superior quality health care to those they are honored to serve, utilizing state-of-the-art technology and innovative processes which drive extraordinary patient outcomes, lower un-necessary hospital re-admission rates resulting in higher patient satisfaction at lower cost. Their commitment to excellence is illustrated by investment in people, products and programs that facilitate industry leading clinical outcomes. Great Lakes Caring is resolute in their commitment to exceeding the expectations of the physicians, facilities and hospitals that entrust their patients to Great Lakes Caring and most importantly to exceeding the needs of the patients who are their quintessential priority. For more information, please visit http://www.greatlakescaring.com or contact William Deary, wdeary@greatlakescaring.com.
