Aveanna reportedly expresses interest in buying Enhabit

McKnights Home Care | Diane Eastabrook

Weeks before Encompass Health is expected to spin off Enhabit, its home health and hospice unit, Aveanna Healthcare, a big name in the home health and hospice industry, could be on the hunt to buy it.

According to Reuters, Aveanna and some private equity groups, including Advent International, have expressed interest in acquiring Enhabit. Sources told the news service that Encompass’s home health and hospice unit could be worth up to $3 billion.

McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse reached out to both Encompass and Aveanna for comment, but neither company responded to requests.

Andre Ulloa, partner with M&A Healthcare Advisors, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse in an email that Enhabit could be an attractive acquisition target for Aveanna. He said the home health and hospice company has been growing organically and has made no secret that it wants to accelerate growth through acquisitions.

“Financial sponsors, such as Bain Capital appear to be the private equity firm backing Aveanna and are deploying capital into home health and hospice at record breaking levels,” Ulloa explained. “We see this across the market spectrum, from large cap down to the lower middle market.”