KKR, a global investment firm, has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Birmingham-based Therapy Brands, which is one of the fastest-growing and most promising businesses in the Magic City.
KKR will be acquiring the majority interest from Therapy Brands' existing shareholders, investment funds affiliated with Lightyear Capital LLC OAK HC/FT and Greater Sum Ventures. Existing investor PSG will participate in the transaction alongside KKR and continue to be a minority shareholder in Therapy Brands.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but the past majority investment deal involving Therapy Brands ranked among the biggest transactions in the region in 2018.
Founded in 2013 by Shegun Otulana, Therapy Brands provides software to streamline the clinical, administrative and reimbursement workflows of health care professionals in multiple end markets. The company’s offerings support the daily operations of more than 28,000 practices across the U.S., ranging from individual providers to national multi-location practice groups.
“Provider and patient friendly technology-enabled solutions are more important than ever as the demand for mental and behavioral health services continues to rapidly increase,” said Kimberly O’Loughlin, CEO of Therapy Brands. “We are excited to welcome KKR as our new investor, which brings a deep understanding of the health care sector and extensive experience in scaling technology-enabled platforms. This support will help us accelerate our mission of making it easier for providers to navigate an increasingly complex administrative landscape so they can spend more time and focus on delivering improved outcomes for their clients.”
KKR is making its investment in Therapy Brands primarily from its Americas XII Fund. The investment adds to KKR’s experience of investing in leading behavioral health care businesses, including BlueSprig Pediatrics and BrightSpring Health Services, as well as in high-growth, health care-related technology companies like WebMD (Internet Brands) and Clarify Health.
“We are delighted to be backing Therapy Brands at a time when there is increasing recognition and social awareness about the importance of mental health,” said Max Lin, partner at KKR, who leads the health care industry team for KKR’s Americas Private Equity business. “Therapy Brands has developed an impressive portfolio of best-in-class software tools and mission-critical solutions to help mental health providers modernize their practices. We look forward to working with the team in accelerating the growth of the platform and finding additional ways of delivering enhanced value to its clinicians.”
William Blair and TripleTree are acting as financial advisors and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as legal advisor to Therapy Brands. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to KKR.