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Archimed, Lightyear Capital bet on occupational healthcare; Fitness and wellness M&A thriving

Happy Fri-yay! John R. Fischer, here, writing to you from the New York newsroom.  

First up, a 7-deal listicle written by yours truly on occupational and employee healthcare, an industry that is attracting the likes of Archimed, Lightyear Capital and MML Capital.  

Then, we’ll end with a Q3 2024 market update by investment bank Houlihan Lokey on how M&A opportunities in different parts of the fitness and wellness sector continue to thrive amid heightened levels of investor scrutiny. 

Employee Health 

Increasing productivity, lowering healthcare costs and the aim to reduce employee absenteeism are among the many drivers behind employers’ investments in occupational health and employee wellness programs. The fragmented market presents attractive exit opportunities for investors like PE firms, along with recession resilience and predictable cashflows. 

Firms active in the sector include Archimed, Lightyear Capital and MML Capital, to name a few.  

I compiled a list of seven of these deals from over the past year.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to see highlights from three of them.  

Punching above weight 

Potential M&A opportunities for premium assets in multi-unit and consumer product sectors remain robust despite heightened scrutiny among investors, according to investment bank Houlihan Lokey’s Fitness and Wellness market update for the third quarter of 2024. 

Read about deals in this sector in the premium version of the Wire. 

That’s it for me. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat, please email me at john.fischer@pei.group. 

Craig McGlashan will write to you on Monday with the Europe Wire, and MK Flynn will deliver the US edition. 

Cheers, 

John 

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

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The secondaries market just took collaboration to a new level: Some of the secondaries market's biggest buyers have committed LP capital to Accel-KKR's debut blindpool secondaries fund. What gives? (Secondaries Investor)

Three former CDPQ infrastructure executives, whose departures from the Canadian pension fund were revealed by Infrastructure Investor in January, have had charges brought against them by US authorities in an alleged case of bribery. (Infrastructure Investor)

The dramatic ousting of Alberta Investment Management Corp’s leadership owed much to the pension system’s efforts to up its game in global private markets, sources told Buyouts.

ESG’s value-creation argument has never been stronger, with teams increasingly able to demonstrate how their efforts drive growth in portfolio companies. It is a welcome development. (New Private Markets)

This year is poised to be a busy year for the secondaries market, according to research from William Blair, with buyers predicting a record year for volume and continued increases in pricing into 2025. (Secondaries Investor)

Asset manager Gresham House has appointed Eoin McDonald as global director of natural capital. McDonald joins from GreenAgCapital, where he was a managing director and worked on food and agriculture investment strategies and led fundraising efforts. (Agri Investor)

They said it

“What we’ve seen in healthcare is if you can find a business that is increasing access, facilitating more coordinated care and ultimately leading to better outcomes, it generally makes for an attractive investment opportunity.”

— Michael Langer, managing director, Lightyear, on the firm’s investment in CuraLinc