Blue Wolf Capital and Peloton Equity Announce the Launch of ClearSky Health
The new business aims to become a national leader in the integrated
delivery of rehabilitation services
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Blue Wolf Capital Partners, LLC (“Blue Wolf”) and Peloton
Equity, LLC (“Peloton”) announced today that they have entered into
a partnership with a management team led by Darby Brockette to launch ClearSky
Health (“ClearSky”). The new company, headquartered in Austin,
Texas, will develop and acquire inpatient rehabilitation facilities
(“IRFs”) and related post-acute services companies as part of a strategy
to build a market leader in the integrated delivery of rehabilitation
services from the hospital to the patient’s home.
ClearSky Health’s formation occurred concurrently with the company’s
acquisition of four Texas and Louisiana-based IRFs and related real
estate from Maxim Management Group, LLC (“Maxim”) in April 2019. Maxim
represents the first acquisition for the ClearSky Health platform.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Peloton and Blue
Wolf to build ClearSky Health into an industry leader in rehabilitation
and post-acute care,” said Darby Brockette, CEO of ClearSky Health.
“The investment to form ClearSky Health validates the demand for
premier, authentic, inspiring, and transformative
patient-centered rehabilitation and related services nationally, and we
are off to a great start with the Maxim acquisition.”
Mr. Brockette, a 30+-year veteran of the post-acute healthcare industry,
most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Ernest Health
(“Ernest”), one of the nation’s leading inpatient rehabilitation and
long-term acute care hospital companies. Mr. Brockette, along with
Ferrer Freeman & Company, formed Ernest Health in 2004, and he served as
CEO until the company’s sale to Vibra Healthcare in 2018. During his
tenure, Ernest Health developed and acquired 25 hospitals. Prior to
forming Ernest Health, Mr. Brockette served as Head of HealthSouth’s
Western U.S. Division.
Intensive rehabilitation services are a critical component of the
post-acute care continuum at a time when many communities across the
U.S. remain underserved. The aging of the U.S. population, improvements
in medical technology, and the increasing availability of patient-level
data position high-quality inpatient rehabilitation providers to play an
even more important role in the health and wellness of individuals who
are living with disabilities.
“The post-acute care sector in the U.S. is evolving towards integrated
delivery models and value-based care, and we believe IRFs are
well-positioned to play an important role in this transformation,” said Ted
Lundberg, Co-Founding Partner at Peloton Equity. “We are excited to
partner with a team we have worked with before that has a proven track
record of growth, innovation, high quality operations and superior
clinical outcomes.”
“Blue Wolf’s commitment to ClearSky Health reflects our strategy of
continuing to invest in the post-acute care industry,” added Jeremy
Kogler, Partner at Blue Wolf Capital Partners. “We are actively
seeking opportunities to develop and acquire additional assets in this
highly fragmented and growing market and believe Darby and the ClearSky
Health team are uniquely positioned to achieve sector leadership.”
Estill Advisory Group, LLC (d/b/a Belay Group) served as exclusive
financial advisor to Maxim with respect to this transaction. CIT Bank,
N.A. provided debt financing to ClearSky Health for the acquisition of
Maxim.
About ClearSky Health
ClearSky Health was formed in April 2019 as a partnership between Blue
Wolf, Peloton and a management team led by Darby Brockette. The
company’s mission is to become a premier rehabilitative healthcare
provider, dedicated to healing and transforming the lives of individuals
living with disabling injuries or illnesses. The company focuses on a
culture that always puts the patient first and collaborates with
healthcare providers in exploring opportunities to introduce, expand, or
improve rehabilitative care to communities, especially in underserved
areas. The ClearSky Health executive team, combined, has more than 200
years of experience developing and operating facilities and treatment
programs dedicated to rehabilitative healthcare services, and the
company is seeking additional collaboration opportunities, including:
mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, operational management, de
novo development, and more. Visit https://www.clearskyhealth.com/.
About Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Blue Wolf Capital Partners is a New York-based private equity firm with
a family of funds which focus on transformational investments in middle
market companies. Blue Wolf’s partners have decades of experience
investing in and growing middle market companies. Blue Wolf’s portfolio
of healthcare investments includes Pharmaceutical Strategies Group,
ModernMD Urgent Care, Elara Caring, Fox Rehabilitation, and StateServ
Holdings. For more information about Blue Wolf, visit http://www.bluewolfcapital.com/.
About Peloton Equity
Peloton Equity, LLC (http://www.pelotonequity.com)
is a Connecticut-based private equity firm that focuses exclusively on
growth capital investments in the healthcare industry. Peloton is the
successor firm to Ferrer Freeman & Company (“FFC”), and the team has
over 60 years of combined healthcare investing experience, including
investments in companies across many major healthcare subsectors.
Peloton seeks companies with between $20 and $200 million of revenue and
the management team, market opportunity and business model to grow
revenues meaningfully over the life of its investment. Peloton leverages
its extensive healthcare network and portfolio management playbook to
support management teams and add value to its portfolio companies. While
at FFC and Peloton, the Peloton investment team has been responsible for
29 portfolio company investments across the healthcare industry
representing over $700 million of invested capital, of which 14 have
been realized through company sales and 5 have been realized through
IPOs. Recent investments made by Peloton include AeroCare Holdings,
Arcadia Solutions, HPOne and ID Experts. Ernest Health was a portfolio
company of FFC’s prior to its sale to Medical Properties Trust in 2012.
Contacts
ClearSky Health Contact:
Jessie
Smedley
Chief Operating Officer
jessiesmedley@clearskyhealth.com
