Elements Behavioral Acquires Journey Healing Centers

Addiction Treatment Industry Newswire

12/20/2013 –ATIN – In a deal that clearly establishes Elements Behavioral as currently the leading and most committed aggregator of addictions industry assets, the Southern California-based, private equity-backed “pure play” addiction treatment services enterprise announced today the acquisition of the Journey Healing Centers, a major private, high-end addictions enterprise with six locations and 100 employees.

Josh & Lisa Lannon

Founded about a decade ago by Josh and Lisa Lannon, Journey operates The Retreat and The Sundance Center in Scottsdale, AZ, and Journey Utah, Creekside and Sober Living in Salt Lake City. Aside from the usual back-slapping self-congratulatory comments from Journey CEO Josh Lannon and Elements CEO David Sack, the announcement contained no information about the transaction, which is not surprising in deals between two private entities. With acquisitions at the heart of its growth model, Elements in recent deals bought Houston-based The Right Step, converting its former Spirit Lodge property into the first geogrpahic expansion outside of Southern California of the storied high-end Promises center. Promises Malibu was Elements first transaction, effectively launching Elements into the treatment business, a deal that has been followed by perhaps a dozen more that have transformed Elements into one of the most formidible competitive forces in the for-profit addictions markets nationwide.

M&A Market

The Elements/Journey deal closes a year in which there were many transactions in the addictions space, with Treatment Magazine seeing continued interest in addictions assets from private equity and a host of other investors, deal interest that has been in part fueled by a recent flood of money into the hands of professional investment groups that is searching for solid deal making opportunities.

READ OUR STORY ON PROMISES AUSTIN

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