The Marketing Process

In 2021, White Oak’s leadership recognized that the company had reached an inflection point in its history. On one hand, favorable increases to Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates across the Carolinas had driven investor demand in their facilities to all-time highs; while at the same time, increased regulatory complexity and scrutiny, compounded by increasing labor challenges, had rendered operating the business as challenging as ever post-pandemic.

To navigate its options, the White Oak team engaged Blueprint to consider a range of strategic alternatives, ultimately electing to divest the entire enterprise. The White Oak team placed a keen focus on selecting a buyer who would continue what the Cecil family had built.

To achieve this mission, Blueprint marketed the portfolio to a select cohort of buyers who were both financially capable of executing a transaction of such a scale but who also demonstrated values consistent with White Oak’s practices.

Blueprint positioned the offering to the market as an exceedingly rare opportunity to acquire a portfolio with significant scale, regional concentration, and an unmatched historical reputation, which also featured a highly functioning, embedded management platform. Blueprint also highlighted notable post-pandemic State Medicaid reimbursement rate increases, setting the portfolio on a path to far exceed historical EBITDAR levels, particularly as pandemic-inflated labor expenses continued to normalize.

Blueprint leveraged immense interest in the opportunity to drive a highly competitive process resulting in 15 proposals from a diverse mix of owner-operators, private equity investors, and REITs. Following several rounds of bidding, an extensive buyer interview process, and thorough qualification of each group’s ability to capitalize on the transaction, the White Oak team ultimately selected National HealthCare Corporation (NHC), a publicly traded owner/operator headquartered out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to acquire the business.

White Oak’s selection was predicated on NHC’s existing reputation in the region, combined with its express commitment to maintaining the White Oak brand, company culture, and consistent quality of care. Blueprint worked hand-in-glove with the White Oak family to navigate a long and challenging buyer selection process, then again through a protracted diligence process given the size, scale, and complexity of the portfolio. Blueprint’s experience executing skilled nursing transactions of this size allowed it to assist the family in navigating to a successful closing.

“Blueprint was great to work with and delivered exactly what they said they would. They were particularly great down the home stretch. Our family appreciated all their efforts in getting the transaction across the finish line.” – Doug Cecil, White Oak Management President