Behind the Deal: Agenda Health Advises on HeartSpring Sale

by | May 28, 2025

Abound Health is expanding its market presence in North Carolina with the acquisition of Heartspring, a provider of mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) services. Agenda Health, an Austin, Texas-based M&A advisory firm specializing in healthcare, acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor in the transaction. The deal strengthens and expands Abound’s footprint in the IDD market.

Heartspring is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and services for individuals with developmental disabilities. It was founded in 2001 by Richard Williamson. While Abound Health delivers comprehensive services across North Carolina, including day programs, group homes and supportive employment for children and adults with IDDs. Operating for more than 20 years, the company emphasizes person-centered care and community integration to enhance client independence.

Heartspring has carved out a niche in Charlotte with its focus on tailored IDD care. And Abound Health, expanding its behavioral health presence, saw an opportunity to integrate a partner it had long respected. The LevinPro HC team spoke with Alex Veach, Director of Transaction Services at Agenda Health, to discuss how this deal came together.

Heartspring turned to Agenda Health to find a buyer that would keep its focus on tailored IDD care intact. Agenda targeted groups active in IDD, a space drawing steady interest from strategic players like Sevita, which acquired Shorehaven and BrightSpring’s community living business this year, and VIVA Pediatric Healthcare, which bought two Texas pediatric care centers in March 2025.

“Agenda facilitated a competitive market process for Heartspring that produced multiple offers,” Veach said. “Heartspring ownership decided that the offer received from Abound Health best aligned with their exit goals.”

Abound’s bid stood out, mixing solid terms, its community-focused IDD expertise and a vision that clicked for Heartspring. Due diligence went off without a hitch with no challenges of note, thanks to years of overlap between the two companies, and the transaction closed smoothly.

“Strong cultural alignment and a high level of operational expertise on both sides of this transaction aided in a very smooth transaction process,” Veach said. “Value is typically the first consideration, but there are a myriad of other factors that can make an offer appealing.” 

This acquisition highlights the growing momentum in the Behavioral Health Care (BHC) sector, which has seen a surge in M&A activity in recent years. “We continue to see an active healthcare services marketplace, especially in behavioral health,” Veach said. “We had a great year in the behavioral space in 2024, and have already seen several very successful exits for our clients in just the first quarter of 2025.” 

In the first four months of 2025, there have been 34 Behavioral Health Care (BHC) deals announced, including four in the IDD space, according to LevinPro HC’s M&A data platform. This outpaces last year when there were 25 BHC deals, and no IDD deals announced in the first four months. In 2023, there were 26 BHC deals, and three IDD deals announced during the same time period

The BHC and IDD markets this year are already on course to outpace both 2024 and 2023. There were 70 BHC deals and six IDD deals announced in 2024, and 83 BHC deals and eight I/DD deals announced in 2023.

As for the future of the subsector, Veach is hopeful. “We continue to expect a very active year in behavioral health this year—we think owners in this space have a tremendous exit opportunity this year with a very active buyer market,” Veach said. 

The IDD market is growing, with approximately 7.4 million Americans living with IDDs, per the CDC, and that demand’s driving a hot deal market. That need is pulling in private equity and regional operators, with tech upgrades and consolidation driving deal activity. Sellers are moving fast to strike while the iron is hot. 

For other news on the home health market, visit the LevinPro HC platform. Check out some of our recent interviews conducted with the Agenda Health team: