Home-Based Care M&A Volume Drops in Q2 2026

FORT MEYERS, Florida—Mertz Taggart, a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm, has published its M&A report for the second quarter of 2026. The report showed that home-based care M&A volume stepped down with 16 transactions closed during the quarter—down from 27 in quarter 1 2026 and 29 in quarter 2 2025. The report also highlighted hospice and homecare tied for the lead at eight closed transactions each, followed by skilled home health at six. Two additional deals were announced but not yet closed as of quarter-end.

Two of the quarter’s closings ranked among the largest home-based care transactions on record: General Atlantic’s approximately $3 billion acquisition of TEAM Services Group and Kinderhook Industries’ $1.1 billion take-private of Enhabit. Together they underscore that, even as deal count cooled, large-cap sponsor capital remained firmly committed to scaled home-based care platforms.

“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,” said Cory Mertz, managing partner at Mertz Taggart. “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 [limited partners] after long hold periods.”

The report said the quarter comprised six new private equity platform investments, four sponsor-backed strategic add-ons, one public-company acquisition and five post-acute or independent buyers. New-platform activity outpaced add-ons—a reversal of the add-on-heavy pattern of recent years—as several sponsors established fresh platforms in the sector.

The quarter’s headline deal was Kinderhook Industries’ completed take-private of Enhabit, the home health and hospice provider that spun out of Encompass Health in 2022 and spent much of its time as a publicly traded company navigating Medicare home health reimbursement headwinds and investor skepticism. Enhabit shareholders received $13.80 per share in cash—a total enterprise value of roughly $1.1 billion (equity plus roughly $480 million of assumed debt).

Among other closings, PruittHealth acquired Georgia Home Health Services, extending its home health presence in South Georgia; Lucent Home Health acquired Chambers Home Health Agency of Northeast Texas, a combined home health and hospice operation; and Renovus Capital Partners-backed Superior Health Holdings added Chant Healthcare, entering Oklahoma across homecare, home health and hospice. Heritage Home Health and Hospice and Legacy Hospice formed an Ohio joint venture.

Hospice matched homecare at eight closed transactions—three platform investments, two sponsor-backed add-ons, and three strategic or independent buyers. Webster Equity Partners-backed Bristol Hospice acquired Hope Hospice & Palliative Care, while Norwest made a platform investment in Ennoble Care, a home-based care provider spanning homecare and hospice. Fifth Century Partners invested in Capstone Hospice, establishing a new platform, and Stillwater Hospice agreed to take over the hospice operations of Campbell County Memorial Hospital.

Non-medical home care tied for the lead at 8 closed transactions—three platform investments, three sponsor-backed add-ons, one public-company deal and one independent buyer. General Atlantic acquired TEAM Services Group, a San Diego-based, scaled home-based care services company, from Alpine Investors for a reported purchase price of approximately $3 billion.

The report also highlighted one of the quarter’s most significant announced (but not yet closed) transactions was Deacon Associates’ agreement to acquire 31 home health and hospice agencies from HCA Healthcare, with terms undisclosed. The divested assets span eight states and will be folded into Central Pyramid, a Deacon subsidiary; the portfolio includes agencies HCA had picked up through its 2021 acquisition of an 80% stake in Brookdale Senior Living’s healthcare services segment. The deal is expected to close in roughly three months, pending regulatory approval.

“For owners weighing a process over the next 12 to 24 months, this environment rewards preparation,” said Mertz. “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.”