Acadia Healthcare To Buy UK-based Partnerships In Care For About $660 Mln

(RTTNews) - Acadia Healthcare Co., Inc. (ACHC), a provider of inpatient behavioral healthcare services, Tuesday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the UK-based Partnerships in Care or PiC for about $660 million in cash. Acadia shares gapped up sharply and spiked higher in early trade. The shares are currently up more than 8 percent.

The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings by about $0.17 to $0.20 per share for the second half of 2014, and $0.40 to $0.46 per share for 2015.

The company noted that the deal, which is expected to close on July 1, 2014, will provide opportunities for organic growth and acquisitions in the UK.

PiC is the second largest independent provider of in-patient behavioral healthcare services in the UK, operating 23 in-patient psychiatric facilities with more than 1,200 beds. Partnerships in Care started in 1983 with a single hospital.

For 2013, PiC generated revenue of around $285 million and adjusted EBITDA of nearly $75 million.

Acadia said it has received a commitment from Bank of America Merrill Lynch regarding financing of the deal. Acadia expects to seek a combination of equity and long-term debt financing in lieu of a portion or all of the drawings under the bridge loans available in the committed financing.

Joey Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of Acadia stated, "We expect to support PiC's strong management team in taking advantage of additional growth opportunities in the UK through both our access to capital and the expertise evident in the successful long-term growth record of Acadia's management team."

Joy Chamberlain, chief executive officer of PiC said the transaction will provide it the exact opportunity needed to expand and diversify its portfolio further.

ACHC is currently trading at $45.50, up $3.46 or 8.23 percent.