Covington Advises Bournewood Health Systems in its sale to Alita Care, Enhancing Capabilities with Leading New England Acute Psychiatric Treatment Provider

BOSTON, MA – March 17^th, 2017 – Covington Associates LLC, a leading middle market investment bank, announced its role as exclusive advisor to Bournewood Health Systems (“Bournewood”), a leading New England based provider of acute psychiatric and dual diagnosis (psych/substance abuse) treatment services, in its sale to Alita Care, LLC (“Alita”), a leading national provider of behavioral health services. Alita is owned by Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C., a leading private equity firm specializing in middle-market investing.

Tom Cibotti, Managing Director of Covington Associates said “We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to represent such a well regarded Behavioral Health organization as Bournewood.  It exemplifies the positive attributes that we see driving the current levels of M&A activity in the rapidly consolidating Behavioral Health market.”

Based in Brookline, Massachusetts, Bournewood has been in continuous operation since 1884 and serves a wide range of adults and adolescents through acute inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient programs. Bournewood has significant experience treating patients with complex psychiatric and addiction-related diseases and serves a critical need in its local market. Former Massachusetts mental health commissioner Marcia Fowler was named Chief Executive Officer of Bournewood in 2015 and will continue to lead the hospital going forward.

Alita serves as the parent holding company for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare (“The Meadows”) and Sunspire Health (“Sunspire”) and is a leading national behavioral health services provider with 16 differentiated programs across the country. The acquisition of Bournewood will further enhance Alita’s treatment capabilities, particularly in acute psychiatric care, while also expanding its comprehensive care model in the Massachusetts market.

Jim Dredge, Chief Executive Officer of Alita, remarked, “We are thrilled to be welcoming Bournewood to the Alita family. Their reputation for clinical excellence has been cultivated over 130 years, and they are well known for providing cutting-edge and compassionate treatment for patients and their families, clinical referral sources, and payors across the country. By adding Bournewood to our family of programs, we will be able to offer a full continuum-of-care to an even wider range of patients.”

Bournewood will continue to operate as an independent brand within Alita. Clinical operations will not be impacted by the transaction, and Bournewood will continue to provide the best trauma-informed and person-centered treatment services for adults, adolescents, and their families in the Massachusetts behavioral health field.  “We are proud to be joining the Alita team and to be combining our expertise with that of the highly-respected and caring professionals at The Meadows and Sunspire Health,” stated Marcia Fowler, Bournewood’s CEO. “We have a mutual appreciation for the mission-driven cultures of these organizations within Alita and look forward to continuing to expand and improve services for the increasing number of people struggling through mental health and addiction crises.”

Covington Associates LLC served as financial advisor and Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP served as legal counsel to Bournewood. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP acted as legal counsel and regulatory counsel, respectively, to Alita. Antares Capital, Ares Capital Management, Capital One Healthcare, CIT Healthcare Corporate Finance, and Partners Group provided debt financing to support the transaction.