Great Lakes Caring Home Health & Hospice Receives Strategic Investment From Wellspring Capital Management

NEW YORK, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Lakes Caring Home Health & Hospice ("Great Lakes Caring") announced today that Wellspring Capital Management LLC ("Wellspring") will be its new equity partner, replacing Pouschine Cook Capital Management, its partner since 2007. Great Lakes Caring is one of the largest and highest quality-rated independent for-profit providers of in-home post-acute services in the United States.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Great Lakes Caring, based in Jackson, Michigan, offers a broad range of services throughout the continuum of health care including hospice, home health, HME, palliative care and private duty. The company was founded in 1994 by Cherilyn Deary, and has built its business on a patient-centric commitment to superior quality and innovation. Great Lakes Caring has become one of the most successful companies in the home health and hospice categories in the country, developing and implementing its products and services throughout the Midwest and growing by over 1400% during the past decade. The company employs more than 1,200 health care professionals in 20 offices, providing superior quality home health care, hospice care, palliative care as well as home medical equipment and private duty services, daily to more than 7,000 patients.

Alexander E. Carles, a Managing Partner of Wellspring, said, "Great Lakes Caring is well positioned in an attractive market where we expect demographic trends to result in continued growth. This growth will continue to be driven by the company's longstanding relationships with physicians, facilities and health systems, its quintessential commitment to superior quality and innovative programs, its scalable infrastructure enabled by next generation technology and considerable experience integrating businesses.  We believe that these and other core strengths will serve Great Lakes Caring very well as we pursue a range of value-building initiatives, including strategic acquisitions."

William F. Dawson Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Wellspring, said, "Great Lakes Caring is a unique opportunity to invest in a platform with documented industry leading quality scores as well as a strong and established brand. William Deary and Great Lakes Caring's world-class management team have a proven track record, and we are excited to collaborate with them to further enhance the value of the business."

William Deary, CEO of Great Lakes Caring, and his management team will continue to lead Great Lakes Caring and have maintained a significant equity stake in the company.

Mr. Deary said, "The Home Health and Hospice industry is poised for consolidation, and Great Lakes Caring will actively participate in this industry consolidation as we evaluate acquisition opportunities and execute on our internal initiatives. Wellspring believes we are an effective platform for both organic and acquisition growth, and has a long track record of supporting service-oriented companies by providing the operational and financial resources they need to build their businesses. As we reach this next stage in the development of Great Lakes Caring, we are very fortunate to welcome new partners who appreciate our success, recognize our potential and are eager to help us reach our goals.  The future is very bright for our company and we look forward to continuing to provide the highest level of care for our patients and the communities we serve."

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as transaction counsel and Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP served as regulatory counsel.  Alvarez & Marsal Transaction Advisory Group provided finance, accounting and tax advice.

About Wellspring Capital Management         
Wellspring 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 Caring
Great Lakes Caring is one of the Midwest's premier providers of a continuum of care, consisting of home health and hospice care, as well as home medical equipment. The company's care services are delivered with an unparalleled level of quality by its exceptionally dedicated team of health care professionals to more than 7,000 patients across Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The company's intimate approach to caring for its patients, along with its relentless pursuit of advanced health care technologies and innovative care services, drives more than 3,000 loyal physicians to entrust their patients' care to Great Lakes Caring.  For more information, please visit www.greatlakescaring.com. 

Contact:   
Mark Semer 
Kekst and Company 
(212) 521-4800

SOURCE Wellspring Capital Management LLC; Great Lakes Caring Home Health & Hospice