Wellspring Capital Exits Strategic Investment in Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellspring Capital Management LLC ("Wellspring") today announced that it has exited its investment in Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice ("Great Lakes Caring"), one of the largest and highest-quality providers of in-home post-acute services in the United States, with Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC becoming the company's new strategic investor. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Wellspring co-invested in May 2014 with William and Cherilyn Deary to contribute to the continued success of Great Lakes Caring. Based in Jackson, Michigan, Great Lakes Caring offers a broad range of services within the continuum of in-home health care, including home health, hospice, home-based primary care, palliative care and private duty services. The company was founded in 1994 by Cherilyn Deary, a registered nurse, and has built its business on a patient-centric commitment to superior quality and innovation. Great Lakes Caring has become one of the highest rated home health and hospice companies in the country, developing and implementing its products and services throughout the Midwest. The company employs more than 2,600 health care professionals in 25 offices, providing superior quality home health care, hospice care, palliative care as well as home-based primary care and private duty services to more than 9,000 patients daily.

Alexander E. Carles, a Managing Partner of Wellspring who leads the firm's healthcare investments, said, "We are very pleased by what Great Lakes Caring has accomplished since we invested in the company in 2014. We have enjoyed working with William Deary, Adam Nielsen, Lakshu Sundaram and the entire management team to grow the company through a range of initiatives, and we thank them for their hard work and partnership."

William Deary, Chief Executive Officer of Great Lakes Caring, added, "We are grateful to Wellspring for their support over the past few years.  Their strategic guidance and expertise have been critical to strengthening our market position. As a result of Wellspring's many contributions, our business is ideally positioned for future growth.  Our team is enthusiastic to build on our recent achievements in the next phase of our evolution."

Seth Pearson, a Partner of Wellspring, commented, "We are proud of the success of our investment in Great Lakes Caring.  The company is well positioned for future growth.  We wish the entire Great Lakes Caring team every success in the future."

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Wellspring with respect to the transaction, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel.

About Wellspring Capital ManagementWellspring Capital Management, founded in 1995, is a leading middle-market private equity firm that manages more than $3 billion of private equity capital. The firm's objective is to bring partnership, experience and value creation to each investment. By teaming up with strong management, Wellspring is able to unlock underlying value and pursue new growth opportunities through strategic initiatives, operating improvements and add-on acquisitions. The firm functions as a strategic rather than tactical partner, providing management teams with top-line support, M&A experience and financial expertise, and access to resources. For additional information, please visit www.wellspringcapital.com. 

About Great Lakes CaringGreat Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice is one of the nation's leading providers of a coordinated continuum of health care, consisting of home health, hospice care, palliative, and home-based primary care. Their value-based health care services are delivered with an unparalleled level of quality by a dedicated team of health care professionals. Great Lakes Caring's primary focus is to provide superior quality health care to those they are honored to serve, utilizing state-of-the-art technology and innovative processes which drive extraordinary patient outcomes, lower un-necessary hospital re-admission rates resulting in higher patient satisfaction at lower cost. Their commitment to excellence is illustrated by investment in people, products and programs that facilitate industry leading clinical outcomes. Great Lakes Caring is resolute in their commitment to exceeding the expectations of the physicians, facilities and hospitals that entrust their patients to Great Lakes Caring and most importantly to exceeding the needs of the patients who are their quintessential priority.

Contact: Mark Semer or Ross LovernKekst(212) 521-4800

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SOURCE Wellspring Capital Management LLC