Sentinel Capital Partners Recaps Hospice Advantage

Buyout shop Sentinel Capital Partners, a firm focused on lower middle market deals, has recapitalized Michigan-based Hospice Advantage, a hospice organization that provides end-of-life care, and family support services to patients in their homes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE
Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in promising lower middle market companies, today announced it has recapitalized Hospice Advantage, a leading hospice organization that provides end-of-life care, palliative treatment, personal care, and family support services, primarily to patients in their homes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Michigan, Hospice Advantage was founded in 2004 by Rod Hildebrant, a veteran hospice industry executive with more than 35 years of experience, to better serve the needs of terminally ill patients. Hospice Advantage currently operates 56 locations in 10 states throughout the Midwest, Southeast and South.
“Hospice Advantage provides valuable services and compassionate care to terminally ill patients and their families,” said Paul Murphy, a Sentinel partner. “We are thrilled to be partners with Rod Hildebrant, a pioneer of the hospice industry in the U.S., and his team.”
“With the graying of America, Hospice care has become an important and growing component of healthcare in the United States,” added Michael Fabian, a Sentinel principal. “We are delighted to support one of the most talented and experienced management teams in this industry.”
Hospice Advantage has built a strong brand name and referral network complemented by a scalable back office operation that includes compliance and quality assurance, billing, human resources, facility development, and information technology. This infrastructure will support further growth in the Midwest and South.
“We are very pleased to partner with Sentinel as we take our company into its next stage of development,” said Mr. Hildebrant, Hospice Advantage’s founder and president. “Their proven expertise in healthcare services made Sentinel our partner of choice. We very much look
forward to working with our new partners at Sentinel and continuing our leadership in the hospice community.”
Sentinel’s investment in Hospice Advantage further expands the firm’s commitment to the healthcare sector. Sentinel’s healthcare portfolio currently include National Spine & Pain Centers, the country’s leading provider of interventional pain management procedures focused on relieving back and neck pain; North American Rescue, a leading supplier of tactical life- saving equipment to the U.S. military; Northeast Dental Management, a leading provider of office support services to dental clinics in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic; and Wellspring Pharmaceutical Corp., a manufacturer and marketer of specialty pharmaceuticals in the U.S. and Canada.
The Hospice Advantage investment is another important event for Sentinel in an already highly productive 2012. In addition to four new platform investments, Sentinel successfully completed five exits: Inscape Publishing, a leading provider of assessment and training products and services that develop interpersonal skills; Interim Healthcare, a leading franchisor of skilled home healthcare services; LTI Boyd, a leading industrial manufacturer of mission- critical sealing and energy management solutions; Massage Envy, the nation’s largest provider and franchisor of massage therapy and facial treatment services; and Southern California Pizza Company, the largest Pizza Hut franchisee in southern California.
About Sentinel Capital Partners
Sentinel Capital Partners specializes in partnering with entrepreneurial executives to buy and build lower middle market companies in the United States and Canada. Sentinel targets eight industry sectors: aerospace/defense, business services, consumer, distribution, food/restaurants, franchising, healthcare, and industrials. Sentinel invests in management buyouts, purchases of family businesses, corporate divestitures, going-private transactions, and special situations of businesses with EBITDA between $7 million and $35 million. For more information about Sentinel, please visit www.sentinelpartners.com.
About Hospice Advantage
Hospice Advantage is a leading hospice care organization that provides end-of-life care, palliative treatment, personal care, and family support services, primarily to patients in their homes. Headquartered in Michigan, Hospice Advantage was founded to better serve the needs of terminally ill patients and currently operates in 56 locations in 10 states.