The Braff Group Research
Advisory Approach
The Braff Group is a premier sell-side M&A advisory firm founded in 1998 with an exclusive focus on health care services. Operating with the philosophy of "Intelligent Dealmaking®," the firm combines deep sector expertise, proprietary data analytics, and creative transaction structuring to maximize outcomes for health care services business owners. Their thesis is that successful exits in health care require more than generalist investment banking skills—they demand specialized knowledge of reimbursement dynamics, regulatory environments, utilization trends, and consolidation patterns specific to each health care subsector.
Unlike generalist M&A firms that allocate bankers across multiple industries, every Braff Group Managing Director specializes exclusively in one health care services vertical. This specialization allows them to understand market-specific nuances that drive value, from Medicare reimbursement changes in home health to certificate-of-need requirements in behavioral health. The firm's approach emphasizes patience and thoroughness—they avoid premature "pre-emptive" offers that close down the market, instead conducting exhaustive buyer outreach to ensure true price discovery.
Sector Focus
The Braff Group concentrates exclusively on health care services, with particular depth in seven core sectors:
Behavioral Health: Including intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) services, autism therapy, substance use treatment, and mental health platforms. The firm has completed numerous transactions in applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers, I/DD residential services, and behavioral health outpatient programs.
Home Health, Home Care & Hospice: Spanning Medicare-certified home health agencies, private-duty home care, hospice providers, and palliative care services. Their track record includes both regional platforms and national affiliations.
Home Infusion & Specialty Pharmacy: Clinical pharmacy providers, home infusion services, and specialty pharmacies with complex reimbursement models. Recent transactions include providers with health system joint ventures.
Health Care Staffing: Travel nursing, per diem staffing, and specialized health care workforce solutions, including firms with volatile revenue models requiring creative deal structures.
Home Medical Equipment (HME): Respiratory-focused DME providers, durable medical equipment distributors, and HME providers with health system partnerships. The firm has completed complex joint venture transactions preserving health system ownership interests.
Outsourced Pharma Services: Pharmacy management services, infusion suite management, and pharmaceutical support services provided to health systems and physician practices.
Adjacent Services: Pediatric therapy organizations, occupational therapy practices, speech therapy providers, and specialized health care services that support the core care continuum.
Deal Track Record
Since 1998, The Braff Group has completed nearly 400 transactions representing over $5 billion in aggregate deal value. The firm has ranked among the top five health care M&A advisors nationally for 15 consecutive years according to LSEG (formerly Thomson Reuters). They have partnered with 94+ private equity sponsors and maintain proprietary valuation comp databases with 2,400+ transactions.
Recent representative transactions (2024-2026) include:
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Eagles Wing to Redwood Family Care (2025): Minnesota-based I/DD residential and day services provider acquired by multi-state I/DD platform backed by Webster Equity Partners. Braff represented the seller in a strategic expansion transaction.
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IV Solutions to Singlepoint Healthcare (2025): Illinois-based clinical pharmacy and home infusion provider acquired by Singlepoint, a DFW Capital Partners portfolio company, to establish an integrated care model.
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Beneficial In-Home Care to Family Resource Home Care (2025): Washington's largest home care agency with six locations sold to Great Point Partners platform, creating the dominant home care provider in Eastern Washington.
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Haven Hospice to BrightSpring Health Services (2024): Florida-based hospice provider with 18 counties sold select assets to BrightSpring (NASDAQ: BTSG), a transaction originated and executed by Braff amid challenging reimbursement dynamics.
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Hart Medical Equipment to Quipt Home Medical (2025): $17 million joint venture transaction where Quipt acquired 60% of Michigan-based HME provider, with remaining 40% retained by five health systems—a complex structure requiring multiple stakeholder alignment.
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Child's Play Therapy Services to Proficio Therapy Services (2026): California-based pediatric occupational therapy provider partnered with Proficio, a management services organization, expanding Proficio's network to 12 clinics.
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Alegre Home Care to Elder Care Alliance (2025): Northern California home care provider with 400 caregivers and 300,000+ annual care hours affiliated with nonprofit Transforming Age network, preserving the organization's mission-driven culture.
Process & Fee Structure
The Braff Group runs institutional-quality sell-side processes with exhaustive buyer outreach. Their process typically includes:
- Comprehensive buyer identification: Leveraging their proprietary database of 2,000+ qualified buyers across private equity sponsors, strategic acquirers, and health systems
- Data-driven preparation: Quality of earnings support, management presentation coaching, and structured data room preparation informed by their 2,400+ transaction comp database
- Creative transaction structuring: Use of pricing collars, retained receivables, contingent payments, and other structures to bridge valuation gaps and mitigate risk
- Anchor pricing strategies: Behavioral economics techniques to motivate buyers to stretch on price
- Patience-driven approach: Avoidance of pre-emptive offers that sacrifice negotiation leverage
Typical engagements span 6-9 months from contract signing to close, though the firm has executed transactions as quickly as 66 days when timing sensitivity demanded it. They require exclusivity and typically engage businesses with $5M-$500M+ in transaction value.
Fee structures follow industry standards for lower middle market sell-side representation, with retainers credited against success fees. The firm emphasizes value creation over fee minimization—their track record shows highest offers averaging 29% above market indicators.
Buyer Network
The Braff Group maintains one of the industry's most extensive buyer networks in health care services, with relationships across:
Private Equity Sponsors: 94+ firms including Webster Equity Partners, DFW Capital Partners, Great Point Partners, and numerous health care-focused PE funds. The firm has closed transactions with sponsors across the spectrum from $500M AUM to multi-billion dollar platforms.
Strategic Buyers: National health care companies including BrightSpring Health Services, Aveanna Healthcare, and regional platforms pursuing geographic expansion or service line diversification.
Health System Buyers: Academic medical centers and regional health systems pursuing vertical integration, including Henry Ford Health, McLaren Health Care, and others acquiring or partnering with post-acute providers.
Family Offices and High-Net-Worth Buyers: Buyers seeking durable cash flow businesses with mission alignment.
Competitive Positioning
The Braff Group differentiates through:
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Pure sector specialization: Every Managing Director focuses exclusively on one health care services vertical, not as a generalist across multiple industries.
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Proprietary data advantage: 2,400+ valuation comps and client performance benchmarks provide unrivaled insight into fair market value.
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Buyer-side insight: Many bankers came from buy-side roles, giving them insider knowledge of how PE firms and strategics evaluate, price, and negotiate transactions.
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Creative structuring: Willingness to design innovative transaction structures (collars, retained interests, earnouts, JV arrangements) that maximize value where traditional processes fail.
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Patience and discipline: Avoidance of rushed processes and pre-emptive offers that sacrifice full market exploration.
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No conflicts of interest: Pure sell-side representation with no fees accepted from buyers, lenders, or other external parties.
Not a Fit If
The Braff Group typically declines engagements where:
- Businesses fall below $5M in transaction value
- Sellers demand rushed processes or want to accept pre-emptive offers without market exploration
- Non-healthcare services businesses (their exclusive focus is health care services)
- Buy-side representation (they only represent sellers)
- Situations where significant litigation or regulatory compliance issues cannot be resolved prior to marketing
Team
The firm is led by founder Dexter Braff and includes multiple Managing Directors with 18+ years of average M&A experience. Key team members include:
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Dexter W. Braff, MBA – President and Founder. Founded the firm in 1998 with a vision for sector-specific health care M&A expertise.
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Mark A. Kulik, M&AMI, CM&AP – Senior Managing Director. Headed the Haven Hospice transaction to BrightSpring, bringing deep hospice and post-acute expertise.
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Pat Clifford, MBA – Managing Director. Led IV Solutions and Hart Medical Equipment transactions, specializing in HME, infusion, and health system partnerships.
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Steve Garbon, CPA/ABV, CVA – Managing Director. Headed Eagles Wing and Child's Play Therapy Services transactions, with expertise in behavioral health and pediatric therapy.
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Kris Novak – Managing Director. Led Beneficial In-Home Care and Alegre Home Care transactions, focusing on home care and mission-driven sellers.
The team includes professionals with backgrounds in health care operations, finance, and buy-side private equity, giving them comprehensive understanding of both seller and buyer perspectives.
Geographic Coverage
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1665 Washington Road, Suite 3, Pittsburgh, PA 15228), The Braff Group serves clients nationwide with particular depth in transactions across:
- Mid-Atlantic: Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey
- Southeast: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee
- Midwest: Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana
- West Coast: California, Washington, Oregon
- Southwest: Texas, Arizona
The firm has executed transactions in 40+ states and maintains deep relationships with regional and national buyers across all major U.S. markets.