Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED), a leading provider of home health, hospice and personal care, announced today that it has, through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Homecare Preferred Choice, Inc., doing business as AseraCare Hospice (“AseraCare Hospice”), a national hospice care provider with an executive office in Plano, Texas and administrative support center in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Founded in 1994, AseraCare Hospice cares for more than 2,100 patients daily and employs more than 1,200 hospice professionals in 44 locations across 14 states, generating approximately $117 million in annual revenues.
Under the terms of the agreement, expected to close on, or around, June 1, 2020, pending regulatory approvals, Amedisys will acquire 100 percent of the ownership interests in AseraCare Hospice for a cash purchase price of $235 million, which is inclusive of a $32 million tax asset bringing the net purchase price to $203 million. The Company will not use any of the funds received by the Company from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund that was appropriated by Congress to the Department of Health and Human Services in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, to fund the acquisition.
“AseraCare Hospice is a company we have been watching and admiring closely for many years with high regard,” stated Amedisys CEO and President Paul Kusserow. “AseraCare is, undoubtedly, one of the best companies in the hospice industry, and it has been our collective long-time aspiration to have them join the Amedisys family. Their great culture, top-tier management, unwavering focus on quality care, and our complementary geographic footprint, make AseraCare a perfect match for Amedisys. We’re looking forward to coming together as one, strong organization, serving more patients in more places.”
The transaction adds greater scale to Amedisys’ high-quality, nationwide network of 146 hospice care centers. Post-closing, the combined hospice operations will include 190 care centers in 35 states, with an average daily census of approximately 14,000 patients and approximately 7,000 hospice employees.
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The agreement continues Amedisys’ three-pronged hospice strategy outlined in January 2018 of executing large acquisitions with Compassionate Care Hospice, tuck-in acquisitions with RoseRock Healthcare and Asana Hospice and successfully building eight de novo operations.
“AseraCare and Amedisys have a shared mission-driven purpose of providing the highest quality care for patients and their families, and coming together as one is just a natural transition to which all of us are looking forward to embarking upon,” said AseraCare Hospice’s President, Larry Deans. “We share an absolute and sacred commitment to help our patients live each day to its fullest, one person, one family and one community at a time.”
Source: BioSpace