Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, announced today that it has sold its portfolio company Caring Brands International, (Caring Brands) to Wellspring Capital (Wellspring).
Headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, Caring Brands is the largest franchisor of home healthcare services globally and the only franchisor offering the full continuum of care at home, including skilled nursing, assistance with daily living activities and end-of-life hospice care. The Company operates under three brands: Interim HealthCare (U.S.), Bluebird Care (U.K. and Ireland) and Just Better Care (Australia). The three brands represent over 585 locations operated by more than 290 franchise owners and produce approximately USD1.3 billion of annual systemwide sales.
Matthew Frankel, Managing Partner of LLCP, says: “The Caring Brands management team, led by Jennifer Sheets, has built an incredible business and the investment has been extremely successful for LLCP and CBI’s stakeholders. Since investing in 2015, we have completed numerous add-on acquisitions (both domestic and abroad), driven the increased adoption of Caring Brands’ higher acuity service lines (especially hospice and home health), and added a company-owned branch strategy to further accelerate growth. Caring Brands is exceptionally positioned to continue executing on its growth plan and we wish the management team, franchisees and Wellspring further success.”
Jennifer Sheets, President and CEO of Caring Brands, says: “It has been a true pleasure partnering with LLCP, my executive team and our franchisees to accelerate Caring Brands’ growth. LLCP’s incredible expertise in both franchising and healthcare made them an invaluable partner to our Company and we benefited greatly from their strategic direction. LLCP shares our philosophy that providing franchisees incredible support is paramount to the success of any franchisor.”
The sale of Caring Brands is LLCP’s eighth recent successful exit, following FlexXray, Trinity Consultants, Nothing Bundt Cakes, ZorgDomein, Jonathan Engineered Solutions, Futurewhiz and Pacific Handy Cutter.
Lincoln International served as financial adviser, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Caring Brands in connection with the sale.
