Bristol Acquires California VNA Hospice Operations

California-based hospice and home health provider Visiting Nurse Association of the Inland Counties (VNA) has been acquired in tandem by two different companies. Bristol Hospice purchased the VNA’s hospice operations for an undisclosed amount, whereas HealthSure Management Services (HMS) will take on the organization’s home health business.

Financial terms for the HealthSure transaction were also kept confidential. 

Hospice valuations have hit record highs during the past two years, with multiples in the space reaching as high as 29x. The VNA deal reflects this trend. 

“The value of the hospice portion greatly outweighed the home health portion and warranted a higher purchase price,” Mark Thomas, senior analyst for M&A advisory firm American Healthcare Capital told Hospice News. “Regarding ownership structure, the hospice portion of the business (staff, census, contracts, etc) will be absorbed into Bristol’s preexisting entity while the home health portion and VNA brand will remain with the home health acquirer, HMS.”

VNA has an average daily hospice census of 140 and cares for 350 home health patients per day. The organization brought in annual revenues of $15.4 million. The acquiring hospice, Bristol, is a portfolio company of the investment firm Webster Equity Partners.

American Healthcare Capital advised VNA through these transactions.

Bristol Hospice has made a number of acquisitions this year. In March the company purchased eight Sojourn Hospice & Palliative Care locations in Utah and California from parent company Healthy Living Network. Financial terms of the Sojourn acquisitions were not made public. Bristol has completed nine acquisitions since Webster Equity Partners purchased the company in 2017 for $70 million.

VNA pursued the sale because the organization was in bankruptcy. 

“This was truly a collaborative effort. Our team worked side-by-side with the restructuring company and attorneys to arrive at the best possible outcome for all parties involved,” said Thomas and Andre Ulloa, principal, American Healthcare Capital in a statement. “In the end, the company continued to service their patients, avoided large scale reductions in personnel, and satisfied their creditors. It was a pleasure helping this long-standing agency transition to new ownership,”