Q2 2026 Home-Based Care M&A Report
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Home-based care M&A volume stepped down in Q2 2026, with 16 transactions closed during the quarter — down from 27 in Q1 2026 and 29 in Q2 2025. Hospice and home care tied for the lead at 8 closed transactions each, followed by skilled Home Health at 6. Two additional deals were announced but not yet closed as of quarter-end.
Two of the quarter’s closings ranked among the largest home-based care transactions on record: General Atlantic’s approximately $3 billion acquisition of TEAM Services Group and Kinderhook Industries’ $1.1 billion take-private of Enhabit. Together they underscore that, even as deal count cooled, large-cap sponsor capital remained firmly committed to scaled home-based care platforms.
Cory Mertz, managing partner at Mertz Taggart, noted: “The count came down this quarter, and it’s fair to ask whether the regulatory environment is part of it — the fraud takedowns, the hospice 36-month rule, the new enrollment moratorium and enhanced oversight all make deals more complex to get across the line. But it’s one quarter, and the dollars tell the other side of the story. Sponsors are still writing big checks and, increasingly, looking to return capital to LPs after long hold periods.”
Home-Based Care M&A
By structure, the quarter comprised six new PE platform investments, four sponsor-backed strategic add-ons, one public-company acquisition, and five post-acute, or independent buyers. New-platform activity outpaced add-ons — a reversal of the add-on-heavy pattern of recent years — as several sponsors established fresh platforms in the sector.
Home Health M&A
Home health saw 6 closed transactions — including two new platform investments, one sponsor-backed add-on, and three other strategic or independent buyers — down from 8 in each of the prior two quarters.
The quarter’s headline deal was Kinderhook Industries’ completed take-private of Enhabit, the home health and hospice provider that spun out of Encompass Health in 2022 and spent much of its time as a publicly traded company navigating Medicare home health reimbursement headwinds and investor skepticism. Enhabit shareholders received $13.80 per share in cash — a total enterprise value of roughly $1.1 billion (equity plus roughly $480 million of assumed debt), representing a 10.2x EBITDA multiple on $108 million of EBITDA, a 24% premium to the undisturbed share price and nearly 34% to the 60-day average.
Cory Mertz offered this perspective: “The Enhabit deal is a good reminder of why we don’t lead with multiples. Enhabit shareholders received a 10.2x EBITDA, which sounds unremarkable for a billion-dollar, public company. But this was a 24% premium to market and nearly 34% to the 60-day average — significant by any measure.”
Among other closings, PruittHealth acquired Georgia Home Health Services, extending its home health presence in South Georgia; Lucent Home Health acquired Chambers Home Health Agency of Northeast Texas, a combined home health and hospice operation; and Renovus Capital Partners-backed Superior Health Holdings added Chant Healthcare, entering Oklahoma across home care, home health and hospice. Heritage Home Health and Hospice and Legacy Hospice formed an Ohio joint venture.
Hospice M&A
Hospice matched home care at 8 closed transactions — three platform investments, two sponsor-backed add-ons, and three strategic or independent buyers — extending the steady, add-on-heavy consolidation that has defined the segment. Webster Equity Partners-backed Bristol Hospice acquired Hope Hospice & Palliative Care, while Norwest made a platform investment in Ennoble Care, a home-based care provider spanning home care and hospice. 5th Century Partners invested in Capstone Hospice, establishing a new platform, and Stillwater Hospice agreed to take over the hospice operations of Campbell County Memorial Hospital.
Home Care M&A
Non-medical home care tied for the lead at 8 closed transactions — three platform investments, three sponsor-backed add-ons, one public-company deal, and one independent buyer — powered by the quarter’s largest transaction. General Atlantic acquired TEAM Services Group, a San Diego-based, scaled home-based care services company, from Alpine Investors for a reported purchase price of approximately $3 billion — one of the largest home-based care transactions on record. TEAM’s EBITDA was reported, but the transaction’s EBITDA multiple can’t be reliably calculated: only the purchase price is known, not enterprise value.
Elsewhere, Warburg Pincus made a platform investment in non-medical home care provider Cornerstone Caregiving, with financing from Monroe Capital; Addus HomeCare acquired HomeCourt Home Care, marking its entry into Indiana; Searchlight Capital Partners-backed Care Advantage added First Priority Home Care; SIG Partners-backed Pillar Health Group acquired Krista Care; and Feature Healthcare acquired Carepoint.
One of the quarter's most significant announced (but not yet closed) transactions was Deacon Associates' agreement to acquire 31 home health and hospice agencies from HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) , with terms undisclosed. The divested assets span eight states and will be folded into Central Pyramid, a Deacon subsidiary; the portfolio includes agencies HCA had picked up through its 2021 acquisition of an 80% stake in Brookdale Senior Living's health care services segment. The deal is expected to close in roughly three months, pending regulatory approval. It stands out as a large health system stepping back from home-based care even as operators like Deacon — in CEO Trey Crabb's words — "double down on home health and hospice."
Cory Mertz added: “For owners weighing a process over the next 12 to 24 months, this environment rewards preparation. Diligence around billing and compliance has only intensified — especially in the enhanced-oversight states — and the sellers who invest early in getting their house in order are the ones who hold their value all the way through to close.”
If you are interested, you can also download the .PDF version of the Q2 2026 Home-Based Care M&A Report via the following link:
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