The Braff Group Archives • The Braff Group

Behavioral Health Provider Ideal Option’s Partnership with Safeway: Reflections on an Entire Industry

On June 1st, “Ideal Option, a national leader in evidence-based medication-assisted treatment [announced that it had] partnered with Safeway, one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.S., to provide services to patients inside the store’s wellness center [in] Vancouver, WA”. “With this partnership, Safeway becomes the first national retailer to complement their in-store pharmacy services with an addiction medicine provider – a bold and progressive move that reflects both a decrease in the stigma traditionally surrounding addiction, and the urgency to counter the surge in substance use during the pandemic”.

SUD Deal Outlook is as ‘Bright as it Has Ever Been’

While deal activity varied by quarter last year, the space saw 51 deals overall in 2020. That’s just two fewer than the 53 transactions it posted in 2019, according to The Braff Group. And currently, the outlook for SUD M&A is “about as bright as it has ever been,” according to Dexter Braff, president of the M&A advisory firm.

Valuation as a Meme

Can we finally put to bed the quaint notion that the stock market is even remotely a barometer of the value of a firm based upon its revenues, profits, growth, and risk-return fundamentals? The newest meme stock is AMC Entertainment. You know, the movie theater chain that in the wake of COVID posted more than $1.8B in losses? The company whose future is very much unclear now that the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney, and others have made first run premiers at home a thing? Yeah, that AMC.

Focus on Quality in Value-Based Care Could Impact Hospice M&A

“To stay successful and really be effective at managing your revenue cycle management, it’s getting more sophisticated than it used to be for hospice providers. There’s going to be various iterations of programs coming up and policies that are going to require different payers, and you’ve got to be able to partner with those different payers,” Kulik told Hospice News. “That is something that’s going to be new for hospice providers — that sophistication level.”

Private Investors Pour $25 Million Into DME Startup Tomorrow Health

"Tomorrow Health’s infusion of cash is indicative of rising investor interest in the home-based care space and associated industries like DME. Private equity hospice transactions rose nearly 25% from 2011 to 2020, according to a report from The Braff Group."

What 2020’s Platform Deal Drop Off Means for the Autism Services Market

“A lot of people in the merger and acquisition world, across the board, believe that 2021 might be a record year in terms of transactions,” Braff said. “It could, in fact, be a record year in autism services as well.”

Health System Investment in Hospice Unlikely to Become a Trend

Despite recent hospice and home-based care acquisitions involving health systems, such transactions are unlikely to become a common practice during 2021 and 2022. However, health systems are taking a closer look at companies that provide non-medical assistance to help seniors age in place.