Houlihan Lokey Advises SYNERGY
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that SYNERGY HomeCare Franchising, LLC (SYNERGY), a portfolio company of NexPhase Capital (NexPhase), has been acquired by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP).
LLCP, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm, announced that it has partnered with management to acquire SYNERGY from NexPhase. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
SYNERGY, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, provides a broad range of nonmedical in-home services, including personal care, companion care, memory care, and specialized care for individuals who are living with physical or developmental disabilities, chronic health conditions, or recovering from illness or surgery. SYNERGY, which was founded in 1999, has more than 240 franchises operating in approximately 550 territories in 42 states across the U.S.
NexPhase is a thematically driven and operationally focused lower-middle-market private equity firm that makes control investments in growth-oriented and capital-efficient companies within three distinct industry verticals: healthcare, software, and consumer. NexPhase partners with companies that have reached a growth inflection point and are seeking a value-added partner to help navigate the company’s next phase. The NexPhase team has extensive industry and operational experience and NexPhase’s Partners have invested together for more than 15 years. The NexPhase team has completed more than 100 investments, including add-ons, and targets control equity investments between $40 million and $150 million. Since its inception, NexPhase has raised and managed approximately $2.6 billion of capital.
LLCP is a middle-market private equity firm with a 40-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including business services, franchising and multi-unit, education and training, and engineered products and manufacturing. LLCP has extensive experience investing in the franchising industry, including prior investments in in-home care concepts such as Senior Helpers and Caring Brands, and more broadly in franchising, including Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Kilwins, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Hand & Stone. SYNERGY represents LLCP’s 17th franchising investment, with a combined 31 brands across a variety of industries.
Houlihan Lokey’s Healthcare Group is among the largest dedicated healthcare investment banking groups in the world. In 2023, the group closed 34 transactions and was ranked by LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) as the No. 1 advisor for all global healthcare M&A transactions.* This transaction also builds on Houlihan Lokey’s leading track record in the post-acute care sector. This transaction also highlights Houlihan Lokey’s broad franchising expertise, becoming its ninth closed franchisor transaction since 2020.
Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to SYNERGY and NexPhase, and assisted in initiating, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on their behalf.
*Excludes accounting firms and brokers.
RELATED: Post-Acute Senior Housing, Financial Sponsors Coverage, Mergers & Acquisitions