Facilitating Growth Through Acquisition

CEO Rod Hildebrant, a veteran hospice executive with more than 35 years of healthcare and hospice experience, founded Hospice Advantage in 2004 to serve the needs of terminally ill patients. After completing several tuck-in acquisitions, Hospice Advantage had grown to the point where it needed a financial partner with the resources to help it achieve the next phase of growth. Mr. Hildebrant engaged a boutique investment bank with which Sentinel has a strong relationship to help him locate such a partner. Sentinel was selected as the buyer because of our proven record of growing healthcare businesses through acquisitions and the strong relationship we formed with management during the sale process.

• To acquire a leading platform in the large and growing hospice care sector and to pursue a regional consolidation in a highly fragmented industry
• To provide low-cost, compassionate end-of-life care to a growing population of aging Americans who prefer to be treated at home
• To partner with Hospice Advantage’s talented and experienced founder and management team, who coinvested meaningfully alongside Sentinel and continued to manage the business

Transformed Through Acquisition: Under Sentinel’s ownership, Hospice Advantage successfully completed 15 add-on acquisitions that transformed the business into a regional leader.

• During the first year of Sentinel’s ownership, Hospice Advantage completed six tuck-in acquisitions in two new states. This expansion came despite a challenging regulatory environment, as sequestration reduced reimbursement rates and Medicare tightened admissions standards.
• In 2014–2015, Hospice Advantage acquired nine more operations and expanded into two additional states.

Built Scalable Infrastructure: To support rapid growth, Sentinel worked with management to bolster the organization’s ability to acquire, integrate, and manage geographically diverse add-ons. As part of this effort, the finance team was significantly expanded and three new regional vice presidents were added.

In less than three years, Sentinel and management successfully completed and integrated 15 tuck-in acquisitions, grew revenue and EBITDA by approximately 30%, and achieved the objectives we established at the outset. In October 2015, Sentinel sold Hospice Advantage to strategic buyer Compassus in a highly successful transaction for Sentinel and its management partners.