The Wellness Room: Quickly Securing a Qualified Buyer to Continue Owner’s Legacy of Providing Quality Behavioral Health Services

Industry Expertise

Health Care

Location

West of Boston

Business Broker

Molly Hanson

Situation

The owner of a multi-location, behavioral health practice based in Massachusetts had successfully built the business over a decade and needed to sell the company quickly for health reasons. The owner had previously been approached by a nationally recognized behavioral health company and, responding to their inquiry, a deal moved forward at a rapid pace for eight weeks…and then abruptly halted. Communication from the buyer completely ceased.

A few months later, the owner was feeling increased pressure to sell the practice. At the advice of a friend, the owner decided to seek the expertise of a business broker who could guide them through every aspect of the selling process and find the right buyer. The owner’s goals were not only to find a highly qualified buyer to purchase the business quickly, but also one who would continue their legacy of providing high quality services to people in the Greater Boston area, as well as keep the practice’s highly valued staff of 18 clinicians and an administrative team of four.

BayState Business Brokers’ Approach

The owner turned to BayState Business Brokers, which has an outstanding track record in selling businesses with revenues between $1 and $15 million, including deep experience selling companies in the healthcare market. BayState leveraged its proven, sophisticated process to establish a value for the company and then efficiently market the practice to qualified, vetted buyers.

Simultaneously, BayState informed the previously interested buyer that a business broker had been engaged and that competition to acquire this practice was now high. Through this effort, BayState extracted why the deal had previously stalled and suggested a creative work-around. This highly effective process not only brought the buyer back to the table, but helped the buyer better understand and quantify the financial and operational benefits of this deal, as well as future growth opportunities, motivating them to reconsider the acquisition. These conversations took place in December 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the economic uncertainty created by this global crisis, BayState kept the deal from being renegotiated. Employment agreements were executed, the insurance licensure was completed, and the deal closed quickly in April 2020.

Results

BayState’s highly effective and efficient processes – typically applied on the sale-side to much larger companies – enabled both the seller and buyer to successfully navigate around the initial roadblock. The seller’s transition period was minimal, allowing them to prioritize their own health and that of their family. They soon were able to relocate, all with the satisfaction of knowing that the practice, business reputation and valued clients were in excellent hands.