Webster Equity Taps Goldman Sachs for Bristol Hospice CV

Webster Equity Partners has selected Goldman Sachs as its financial advisor on a continuation vehicle, or CV, for Bristol Hospice, according to sources.

Octus reported last week that the continuation fund process is projected to kick off in the fall. The potential size of the CV could be about $2.5 billion, as reported.

Bristol generated about $140 million in EBITDA in 2025 and is expected to generate about $175 million to $180 million of EBITDA in 2026, as reported.

Webster considered putting Bristol up for sale earlier this year before opting to pursue a CV instead. Octus reported in March that Webster had retained Goldman Sachs and Guggenheim to lead an auction for Bristol, which was projected to launch as soon as June.

As Octus highlighted in a recent report, net asset value, or NAV, loans are increasingly being bolted onto CVs, making them a growing deal flow source for direct lenders as sponsor hold times increase and M&A remains relatively muted.

Healthcare companies pursuing CVs include InTandem Capital Partners-backed Ivy Fertility. Octus reported on May 29 that the company was working with Lazard on the effort and asking lenders to provide NAV loans in conjunction with the transaction.

Other Webster-owned healthcare companies that have been placed in CVs include Baymark Health Services in 2021, according to a third-party report. Last August, Octus reported that the sponsor was preparing to launch a sale process for the addiction treatment center, although it ultimately underwent a restructuring earlier this year instead.

Goldman previously advised Webster on transactions including the sale of home health company Epic Health Services to Bain Capital Private Equity in 2016 and the sale of clinical research site manager CenExel Clinical Research to BayPine last year, which reportedly valued the business at about $1.5 billion. Goldman was also among the banks that advised on Webster’s sale of physician management services organization Retina Consultants of America to Cencora Inc. for about $4.6 billion in cash plus up to $500 million in contingent consideration in a transaction completed in 2025.

Salt Lake City-based Bristol, founded in 2006, has more than 80 locations across more than 25 states.

Octus reported last year that Blue Owl had provided Bristol with $500 million to $750 million in debt financing in October, which was priced at about SOFR+450 bps. A portion of the proceeds from the financing was used to fund a $200 million dividend payout to the company’s shareholders, as reported.

Webster bought Bristol in 2017 in a transaction reportedly valued above $70 million. The private equity firm explored a sale of Bristol in 2021, according to a report.

Bristol has completed several acquisitions under Webster’s ownership, including Optimal Health Services and Suncrest Hospice in 2018; Mid-Delta Hospice in 2024; three DaySpring Hospice locations in Alabama in 2025 and Hope Hospice and Palliative Care this year.

As of March 31, business development companies that held Bristol’s first lien debt due August 2032 included Blue Owl Credit Income Corp., according to Octus’ BDC Database. The loan is priced at SOFR+500 bps.

Webster declined to comment. Representatives for Bristol and Goldman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.