Scoop: Public Partnerships divestiture process underway

Public Consulting Group has been exploring divesting Public Partnerships (PPL), which acts as a technology backbone to facilitate self-directed in-home care, four sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: A lot of caregiving is provided by family members or friends, but not paid for. That can create a financial strain on caregivers, who may be forced to reduce hours or leave their jobs.

What’s happening: Covington Associates is advising on the potential sale of the business, one of the people says, with the private equity-focused process well underway. Second-round bids were submitted in early April, this person says.

• The company is marketing close to $30 million of EBITDA, one of the people says, though another source cited EBITDA closer to $20 million.
• Where the process stands and the likelihood a deal is reached is not certain.

How it works: PPL essentially acts as the fiscal intermediary for self-directed in-home care, helping to compensate caregivers of patients with disabilities or chronic illnesses that are eligible for public Medicaid assistance.

• PPL itself isn't actually providing care, or employing caregivers, but manages various back-end functions — whether that's helping with credentialing and compliance, payroll, processing timesheets, or enrolling caregivers.

Between the lines: PPL enables patients to maintain independence in the home while letting them choose who is caring for them.

• Self-directed in-home care is an alternative to the traditional home care agency model through which a third-party caregiver is brought in, as well as prevents individuals from entering into long-term institutional care.

What they're saying: Not all states like this program (and they vary by state), but those that do see it as a solution to more than one problem, one source says: "The states like the program because, one, there's a need for it, and two, there's a job creation opportunity."

Context: Public Partnerships is a subsidiary of Public Consulting Group, a management consulting firm based out of Boston.

• PPL says that it is the largest fiscal intermediary for self-directed home care services in the U.S., employing over 900 self-direction experts across the nation.
• Other companies facilitating these programs include Team Services Group, backed by Alpine Investors, and Seniorlink, backed by Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Public Partnerships and its parent company, and Covington, did not immediately return requests for comment