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KKR to Buy Therapy Brands for $1.2 Billion in Health Deal

KKR to Buy Therapy Brands for $1.2 Billion in Health Deal

KKR & Co. is buying a majority stake in Therapy Brands, a behavioral-health software provider, for about $1.2 billion including debt in the private equity firm’s latest deal in the sector, according to people familiar with the matter.

New York-based KKR is purchasing the company from investors including Lightyear Capital, Oak HC/FT and Greater Sum Ventures, according to a statement Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report. Existing investor PSG will continue to be a minority shareholder in Therapy Brands and will participate in the takeover alongside KKR, the companies said in the statement, which didn’t include the transaction’s financial terms. The deal will primarily be funded by the KKR Americas XII buyout fund, which closed on $13.9 billion in 2017.

KKR last month announced an investment in Danish biotechnology group Nordic Bioscience A/S, bringing its spending on health-care acquisitions over the past year to $1.4 billion -- roughly 30% more than the previous 12-month period, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The private equity industry has expanded its reach into every part of the health-care sector, including medical practices, home care and other specialties.

KKR has focused on behavioral health in the past with the formation of Blue Sprig Pediatrics Inc., a platform of clinics for children diagnosed with autism, and BrightSpring Health Services, a home- and community-based health-care services provider.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Therapy Brands provides mental- and behavior-health practitioners with technology to manage their businesses, including software for electronic health records, payments and data collection. The company employs more than 500 people nationally.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.