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Executives speaking at Home Health Care News’ FUTURE conference described a shift in home-based care deals: buyers are looking beyond EBITDA to sustainable growth, clinical quality and capable leadership. Some buyers also keep sellers involved as executives, operating partners or minority owners after a transaction closes.
Home-based care acquisitions are increasingly extending beyond the closing date, with buyers weighing sustainable growth, clinical quality and leadership alongside earnings, executives said at Home Health Care News’ FUTURE conference. Some buyers are also keeping former owners involved in operations or giving them an ongoing ownership stake, changing what a sale can mean for sellers and the companies they built.
Dustin Distefano, chief operating officer of franchise operations at A Place At Home, said a company’s value is not captured by EBITDA alone. Buyers want evidence of organic growth, infrastructure and a developing team, he said. A business with solid earnings but little growth may be less attractive than its financial statements suggest. Distefano said he has used what he called an organic-growth model to tell operators that a period of stagnation can lower his view of their value.
Aveanna Healthcare CEO Jeff Shaner said he would favor a slower-growing company with stronger clinical quality over a faster-growing one that lacks the same commitment to care. He said financial performance is connected to clinical outcomes and that he looks for businesses focused on quality over short-term gains. Aveanna, an Atlanta-based provider of home health, hospice and other services, completed its $175.5 million acquisition of Family First Homecare in June, adding 27 locations across seven states.
Bill Mixon, an executive partner at private equity firm Waud Capital, said buyers also assess whether a company’s leadership team is cohesive and can support its next stage of growth. He said a weak management presentation can prompt questions about whether the business has the right leaders before investors can discuss other aspects of a deal.
Growth and Quality Shape Deal Value
The shift described by the executives means sellers may need to show more than a strong earnings figure to support a sale price. Evidence of durable growth, clinical performance and leadership capacity can influence whether buyers see a company as able to expand after acquisition. For care providers, that places operational and care-quality measures alongside financial results in the deal discussion.
Continuing seller involvement can also affect how a transaction plays out for staff, clients and the acquired business. If a former owner remains an executive or operating partner, they may help preserve knowledge and maintain continuity while the buyer pursues growth. Shaner said Aveanna seeks arrangements in which sellers retain leadership roles and, in some cases, equity. Those arrangements are a strategy described by the company, not a guarantee that every acquisition will include them.
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Recent Deals Show Ongoing Roles
The panel discussion reflects a change in the relationship between buyers and sellers, Shaner said. In his account, sellers historically often took proceeds from a sale and left the business. Some buyers now retain executives from acquired companies as operating partners, and Shaner said Aveanna seeks arrangements in which sellers retain leadership roles and, in some cases, equity.
A Place At Home provides non-medical in-home care, care coordination and other services through operations in 22 states. It was acquired by Dovida, a European home care company, in February, and Distefano became its chief operating officer after the transaction. The company’s franchise owners can also retain minority ownership stakes and general-manager roles, according to the report. Aveanna operates in 39 states. These examples illustrate approaches described by the executives; they do not establish that all buyers or deals follow the same model.
“If you’re showing organic growth and infrastructure, and that you’re building your team, your value’s going with it.”
— Dustin Distefano, chief operating officer of franchise operations at A Place At Home
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How Broad the Shift Remains
The comments come from executives discussing their own views and company practices at a conference panel. The report does not provide industry-wide data showing how common post-sale leadership roles or seller equity arrangements have become, or how they affect acquisition prices and outcomes. Deal terms vary, and it is not clear how often sellers remain involved across the home-based care market.
The discussion also does not set out a standard way to measure organic growth, clinical quality or leadership readiness in a transaction. Buyers may weigh those factors differently, and the source does not identify specific benchmarks used across deals. The extent to which these preferences will shape future transactions remains unclear.
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Buyers Will Test Growth Plans
Prospective sellers will likely face closer scrutiny of their growth records, leadership teams and care-quality approach, based on the priorities the executives described. Buyers will also have to decide whether retaining a seller or offering continued ownership fits the acquisition and the company’s plans. No new transaction or industry-wide policy change was announced at the conference.
The next indicators will be the terms of future home-based care deals: whether sellers remain in operating roles, how buyers structure equity participation, and what measures they use to judge sustainable growth and quality. The conference discussion offers a view of current buyer priorities, but future deals will show how widely those practices are adopted.
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Key Questions
What has changed in home-based care acquisitions?
Executives at Home Health Care News’ FUTURE conference said buyers are looking beyond EBITDA to consider organic growth, clinical quality and leadership. They also described deals in which sellers remain involved after closing.
Does a seller always stay with the company after a sale?
No. The report describes examples and strategies used by A Place At Home and Aveanna, not a requirement for all transactions. Whether a seller remains involved depends on the deal.
Why do buyers consider clinical quality?
Aveanna CEO Jeff Shaner said he prefers companies that sustain strong clinical quality, even if their growth is slower. He said he sees a connection between clinical outcomes and financial outcomes; this is his stated view, not a market-wide finding established by the report.
What role can a former owner have after closing?
Depending on the arrangement, a former owner may stay on as an executive or operating partner, or retain a minority ownership stake. A Place At Home co-founder Dustin Distefano became the company’s COO after its acquisition by Dovida.
Source: rss
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