Home-based care dealmaking volume may have declined in Q2, but two notable transactions demonstrate continued investor interest in scaled home-based care platforms.
Q2 saw two of the largest home-based care transactions on record: General Atlantic’s $3 billion acquisition of TEAM Services Group and Kinderhook Industries’ $1.1 billion Enhabit buy, according to Mertz Taggart’s Q2 2026 home-based care M&A report.
According to the report, 16 home-based care deals closed in Q2, including hospice, home health and home care industries. Two additional deals were announced but not yet closed.
“The count came down this quarter, and it’s fair to ask whether the regulatory environment is part of it — the fraud takedowns, the hospice 36-month rule, the new enrollment moratorium and enhanced oversight all make deals more complex to get across the line,” Cory Mertz, managing partner at Mertz Taggart, said in a statement. “But it’s one quarter, and the dollars tell the other side of the story. Sponsors are still writing big checks and, increasingly, looking to return capital to LPs after long hold periods.”
In a reversal of a several-year trend, platform deals outpaced add-on deals. Deals consisted of six new private equity deals, four sponsor-backed strategic add-ons, one public-company acquisition and five post-acute or independent buyers.
Six skilled home health deals closed in Q2, down from eight in the two previous quarters.
The Enhabit deal marked the highlight of home health Q2 dealmaking, representing a 10.2x EBITDA multiple on $108 million of EBITDA, which is a 24% premium to the undisturbed share price and nearly 34% to the 60-day average, according to Mertz.
“The Enhabit deal is a good reminder of why we don’t lead with multiples,” Mertz said. “Enhabit shareholders received a 10.2x EBITDA, which sounds unremarkable for a billion-dollar, public company. But this was a 24% premium to market and nearly 34% to the 60-day average — significant by any measure.”
Other notable deals include Lucent Home Health’s acquisition of Chambers Home Health Agency of Northeast Texas and Superior Health Holdings’ acquisition of Chant Healthcare.
Eight non-medical home care deals closed in the quarter, including the TEAM Services Group deal. Other notable deals include Warburg Pincus’ platform investment in Cornerstone Caregiving, Addus HomeCare Corporation’s (Nasdaq: ADUS) acquisition of HomeCourt Home Care and Care Advantage’s acquisition of First Priority Home Care.
According to Mertz, the current dealmaking climate rewards careful preparation.
“Diligence around billing and compliance has only intensified — especially in the enhanced-oversight states — and the sellers who invest early in getting their house in order are the ones who hold their value all the way through to close,” he said.