Pharos Capital Adds to Growing Home-Based Care Portfolio with THEMA Acquisition

Private equity firm Pharos Capital Group has acquired THEMA Health Services, a home health and palliative care provider that operates across Arizona. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Prescott, Arizona-based THEMA provides care services including home health, palliative care, and hospice in patients’ homes, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities. The company serves over 2,000 patients annually.

With headquarters in both Dallas and Nashville, Tennessee, Pharos is a health care-focused investment firm. Pharos has invested in 55 companies since launching and has more than $1.3 billion of private equity assets under management.

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Typically, Pharos makes investments in the $25 million to $50 million range.

For Pharos, the institutional cost-savings opportunity made THEMA an attractive acquisition target.

“As Medicare hospice daily per diem payments cost about four times less than daily skilled nursing facility services and 40 times less than acute-care inpatient services, THEMA’s hospice offering delivers significant institutional cost-saving benefits, while also maximizing quality of life with compassionate, accessible care,” Jim Phillips, a partner at Pharos, said in a press statement. “We are excited to work with [THEMA’s] experienced management team and dedicated support staff, who have fostered a quality-driven clinical culture with a purposeful sense of community.”

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Under the transaction agreement, THEMA Founder Theresa Lungwitz will retain a minority stake in the company and serve as executive chairperson.

Additionally, Diane Tryggestad will serve as president, spearheading THEMA’s organic growth and acquisitions efforts, according to the statement.

Overall, the deal marks Pharos’ seventh home health or hospice deal this year.

Most recently, Pharos’ post-acute care provider platform Charter Health Care Group purchased Genesis HospiceCare in Athens, Texas, and Saints Hospice in Plano, Texas.

Cucamonga, California-based Charter Health Care Group offers hospice, home health, complex care management and palliative care services. The company delivers care to over 5,000 patients across seven states.

Broadly, Charter Health Care Group’s growth strategy centers around filling the care gaps between home health and hospice, with palliative care also playing a key role.

“There is a significant amount of people in the population who are chronic and frail, even terminal, that may not wish to be in hospice or end-of-life care services,” Charter CEO Steve J. Larkin previously told Home Health Care News. “We also know the patients that we’re caring for today are more complex and wish to be at home. Our growth strategy at Charter is to really focus on palliative care and complex care management services, making sure that we’re keeping patients out of the hospital.”

In August, Charter Health Care Group purchased Generations Hospice Care Inc.

Plus, Charter Health Care Group acquired sister companies Physmed Home Health Care and Serene Care Hospice back in February.

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