Livingstone advises Foothills Therapy Partners on new partnership with Confluent Health

Livingstone’s healthcare team has advised Foothills Therapy Partners (“FTP”), the largest outpatient physical therapy provider in Arizona, on its new partnership with Confluent Health, a portfolio investment of Partners Group Holding AG. Livingstone acted as exclusive financial advisor to FTP.

“Livingstone provided skillful guidance and creative deal-making throughout this complex transaction,” commented Mike Basten, Mike Basten, PT, DPT, FTP Chief Executive Officer. “Livingstone facilitated a competitive process that provided a variety of attractive alternatives and resulted in finding the right partner in Confluent Health.”

Founded in 2000, FTP is an independent and physical therapist-owned practice with 45 outpatient clinics across Arizona. In the Phoenix metropolitan area, FTP operates as Foothills Sports Medicine Physical Therapy™ with 26 clinics and seven sports training and performance clinics, operating as Foothills Acceleration and Sports Training™ (FAST). In Tucson, the group operates 12 clinics as ProActive Physical Therapy, including several clinics specializing in hand therapy. FTP clinics are large, well-appointed, and located in highly trafficked settings, which together support the convenience of patients, customers, and referring physicians.

“As one of the industry’s few remaining therapist-owned and independent market leaders in a state, FTP is a rare platform that commanded significant interest from strategic buyers and private equity firms,” commented Ryan Buckley, Partner at Livingstone. “We are delighted to have assisted in forging this important partnership, with the combined platform serving as a powerful consolidator in the fragmented Southwest geography.”

This partnership will allow FTP to maintain its existing brands while gaining access to Confluent Health’s shared management services. These services include efficient community outreach, digital innovations, value-based care pathway models, marketing and finance tools, and continuing education programs and staff development opportunities such as Evidence In Motion, a nationally-recognized residency, Fellowship, and certification education provider in a physical and occupational therapy program.

“We are proud to welcome FTP into the Confluent family. Adding FTP’s unmatched dedication to specialized patient care and talent development will be a core focus of our new partnership,” says Confluent Health’s President and CEO Larry Benz, PT, DPT, OCS, MBA, MAPP. “Mike and his entire team comprise a pre-eminent practice in the Southwest and are going to add significant value as we grow together. This partnership has endless possibilities.”

Over 15+ years, Livingstone has built one of the most active M&A practices serving the physical therapy industry, having completed more than a dozen transactions with industry leaders such as Alliance Physical Therapy Partners, ATI Physical Therapy, MOTION Physical Therapy, and PT Solutions.

Mark Carl, Director at Livingstone, noted, “FTP marks another successful transaction in the musculoskeletal sub-specialty.  Livingstone has become the middle market’s most active advisor in the space, having completed 20+ deals in the areas of physical therapy, contract rehabilitation, orthopedics, physiatry, and podiatry.”

Polsinelli LLP served as legal counsel to FTP, while Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP provided legal counsel to Confluent.