Patient Square Capital to Acquire Summit BHC from FFL Partners and Lee Equity Partners
Transaction Positions Innovative Provider of Behavioral Health Treatment for Next Chapter of Success
FRANKLIN, TN, September 9, 2021 — Summit BHC (“Summit” or “the Company”), a leading provider of behavioral health and addiction treatment services, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Patient Square Capital ("Patient Square") will acquire Summit from FFL Partners (“FFL”) and Lee Equity Partners (“Lee Equity”). Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, Summit provides substance use disorder and acute psychiatric care at 24 facilities across 16 states. Across its network of facilities, the Company covers a comprehensive continuum of care including acute inpatient care, detoxification programs and residential and outpatient services. From its founding, Summit was designed to utilize an in-network commercial strategy to provide patients with greater access to exceptional and affordable care.
“I would like to thank FFL and Lee Equity for being outstanding partners that helped us to develop a highly-scalable platform offering the full spectrum of high-quality clinical care for our patients,” said Brent Turner, CEO of Summit BHC. “Our team is excited about the opportunities ahead for our partnership with the team at Patient Square Capital.”
Patient Square Capital is a dedicated health care investment firm purpose-built to partner with best-in-class management teams whose products, services and technologies improve health. Its team brings extensive experience, having served on the Boards of Directors of leading multi-site health care providers, such as HCA, Brightspring Health Services, Unified Women’s Healthcare, Envision Healthcare, Heartland Dental, OB Hospitalist Group, Blue Sprig Pediatrics, Covenant Physician Partners, and DuPage Medical Group.
“We anticipate dramatic growth in behavioral health care services, driven by increasing societal recognition of its importance and continued need for expanded access,” said Alex Albert, Founding Partner at Patient Square. “Over a more than dozen year relationship with Summit’s leadership team, we’ve built strong conviction in our alignment with their mission, values and patient-centric approach.”
FFL and Lee Equity partnered to acquire Summit in October 2017. Since the acquisition, Summit has completed seven acquisitions across substance use disorder and entered acute psychiatric care. The Company has expanded eight of its facilities and opened an additional five centers. These initiatives have allowed Summit to achieve growth of more than 200% and become one of the largest behavioral health providers in the nation.
“Together with FFL Partners and the talented management team, we pursued a strategic plan that has enabled Summit to grow significantly to address a growing need in the community while continuing to deliver first-class care,” said Mark Gormley, Partner at Lee Equity. “The pandemic has illustrated in many dimensions how important it is to expand access to behavioral health treatment, and we are proud that Summit is leading the way.”
“Summit provides an essential health benefit to a high-need population, and our team, along with our partners at Lee and Summit, took the responsibility that comes with that very seriously as we built and executed our strategy,” said Chris Harris, Managing Partner at FFL Partners. “As a result of our close partnership, Summit today is serving many more patients across the country and is well positioned to continue growing to improve the quality of life of adults and families throughout the U.S. today.”
FFL and Lee Equity were advised by Moelis and Jefferies Group, LLC on the transaction with Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Bass Berry & Sims serving as legal counsel. Patient Square Capital was advised by Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and McDermott Will & Emery.
About Summit BHC
Headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and founded in 2013, Summit was established to develop and operate a leading network of behavioral health hospitals and addiction treatment centers throughout the country. The company’s primary focus is on psychiatric services and substance use disorder treatment within a flexible and dynamic continuum of care. The leadership team at Summit is comprised of senior executives with decades of combined experience in the behavioral healthcare industry at the national level. The company currently owns and operates 24 freestanding facilities nationwide. For additional information please visit www.summitbhc.com.
About FFL Partners
Founded in 1997, FFL Partners is a San Francisco-based private equity firm with over $5.0 billion under management. FFL pursues thematic investments in business services and healthcare services partnering with exceptional management teams where the firm's high-engagement operating model and extensive network can help accelerate growth and unlock value. Growing its businesses has provided over 75% of the value created by FFL for its investors. For additional information please visit www.fflpartners.com.
About Lee Equity Partners
Lee Equity Partners is a New York–based private equity firm that partners with successful management teams to build companies with strong growth potential. Lee Equity targets equity investments of $50 million to $150 million in middle-market control buyouts and growth capital financings in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $500 million that are located primarily in the United States. The firm invests in a range of industries where the team has deep relationships developed over decades, including business services, financial services, and healthcare services. Visit www.LeeEquity.com.
About Patient Square Capital
Patient Square Capital is a dedicated health care investment firm that partners with best-in-class management teams whose products, services and technologies improve health. We utilize our deep industry expertise, our broad network of relationships and a true partnership approach to make investments in companies that will grow and thrive. We believe in the power these companies have to improve patient lives, strengthen communities and create a healthier world. Patient Square is purpose built by a team of industry-leading executives, differentiated by the depth of our focus in health care, the breadth of our health care investing experience, and the network we can activate to drive differentiated outcomes. Most importantly, patients are squarely at the center of all that we do. For more information, visit www.patientsquarecapital.com.