ARC Health, a fast-growing outpatient mental health provider headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, has taken another significant step in expanding its national footprint with the ARC Health acquisition of Sasco River Center LLC, a leading youth and family mental health service provider based in Darien, Connecticut. The deal, announced Tuesday, marks ARC Health’s second acquisition in less than a month—underscoring the company’s aggressive growth strategy and its focus on partnering with specialized providers that serve children, teens, young adults, and their families.
Sasco River Center currently operates three locations across Connecticut—in Darien, Stamford, and Wilton—and employs a team of 60 mental health professionals. Its services span multiple disciplines, providing comprehensive support for the mental, emotional, and developmental needs of young people. The organization’s flagship location, a 9,000-square-foot multidisciplinary center in Darien, opened in January 2022 and reflects Sasco’s commitment to creating welcoming, well-equipped environments for care.
According to Chris Bogart, co-founder and co-manager of Sasco River Center, joining ARC Health offers the opportunity to focus more energy on patient care while leaving operational complexities to ARC’s experienced administrative team. “ARC can provide the back-office support and economy of scale we need to grow, freeing our team to do what they love best—helping our patients become their best selves,” Bogart said in the ARC Health acquisition announcement.
Two Deals in Three Weeks
This ARC Health acquisition follows closely on the heels of the company’s August 17 purchase of Southeast Psych, which operates two locations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and one in Nashville, Tennessee. Like Sasco River Center, Southeast Psych specializes in youth and family mental health services, with a strong focus on supporting teens and young adults.
The back-to-back deals showcase ARC Health’s dedication to building a robust network of specialized mental health providers across the United States. With a clear emphasis on child, adolescent, and family-focused care, each ARC Health acquisition is strategically chosen to strengthen the company’s expertise in these key areas.
Private Equity-Backed Growth
ARC Health was formed in 2021 following an investment from Chicago-based private equity firm Thurston Group LLC, which partnered with Ohio-based Advanced Recovery Concepts to launch the platform. Thurston Group specializes in healthcare and related business services, with a portfolio that includes Options Medical Weight Loss, U.S. Orthopaedic Partners, and Smile Doctors.
The Thurston partnership has given ARC Health the capital and strategic resources needed to pursue an aggressive acquisition strategy. According to the company, the ARC Health acquisition model focuses on partnering with like-minded mental health providers in attractive geographies—making the Sasco River Center deal likely just one of many to come.
Behavioral Health M&A Trends
The timing of this ARC Health acquisition comes amid shifting dynamics in the behavioral health mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape. The Braff Group, a healthcare M&A advisory firm, reported that 2021 was a record-breaking year for dealmaking, with 251 transactions—33% more than in 2020. While activity has cooled somewhat in 2022, with 102 deals tracked in the first half of the year (about 20% fewer than the same period in 2021), private equity-backed transactions remain strong.
Follow-on acquisitions—where private equity firms add new companies to existing platform investments—are particularly resilient. The Braff Group notes that while platform deals are down 28.6% compared to last year, follow-on deals are only 5.6% lower, suggesting that many firms are opting for strategic bolt-on acquisitions in the face of economic uncertainty. This trend mirrors the ARC Health acquisition approach, as both the Sasco River Center and Southeast Psych deals are follow-on transactions to its original platform investment.
Additional data from Mertz Taggart, another M&A advisory firm, shows that deal flow remains especially strong in the autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and general mental health sectors. These are areas where demand for services continues to outpace supply—making acquisitions in these spaces attractive to investors and operators alike.
A Growing National Presence
With the Sasco River Center acquisition, ARC Health strengthens its presence in the Northeast and deepens its expertise in youth and family mental health. The company’s expanding network now includes providers in Ohio, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Tennessee—geographic diversity that could help buffer against regional market shifts while offering opportunities for collaboration and shared best practices.
For Sasco River Center, becoming part of the ARC Health acquisition portfolio provides the resources needed to expand programs, invest in staff, and reach more families in need. For ARC Health, it’s another building block in an ambitious strategy to create a best-in-class network of outpatient mental health providers nationwide.
Given the company’s rapid pace of acquisitions and its stated interest in finding additional partners, industry watchers can expect more ARC Health acquisition announcements in the near future. As the behavioral health market continues to evolve, ARC’s combination of private equity backing, strategic focus, and commitment to specialized care could position it as one of the most influential players in the sector.
