The Riverside Company has acquired Victorian injury management and occupational rehabilitation services provider Nabenet.
The company is to be added on to Sydney-based national rehabilitation services company Altius Group Holdings in which Riverside acquired a 75.4% stake for about $57 million in March (APE&VCJ, Feb 2021). Both Altius and Nabenet offer occupational rehabilitation services and are registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers.
No financial details of the Nabenet investment have been disclosed but US-based Riverside focuses on the lower mid-market for platform investments in businesses such as Altius Group and typically builds size and capability by adding on smaller businesses.
Riverside has extensive experience of this process in the healthcare sector having invested in more than 170 platform and add-on healthcare companies around the world.
The firm’s Melbourne team also has had its own experience of building a healthcare sector business with The Work Health Group which it exited to US-based ExamWorks Group (NYSE: EXAM) for $93 million in 2018. Riverside had acquired IPAR Rehabilitation in 2015, expanded its services and made a bolt-on acquisition of WorkFocus Group the following year to create The Work Health Group.
Founded in 1993, Hawthorn-based Nabenet provides occupational rehabilitation services to injured workers to help them return to work and everyday life as quickly and safely as possible. The company also advises on injury prevention strategies.
Riverside partner Simon Feiglin said: “Nabenet is an excellent addition to the Altius platform. As the leading provider of occupational and rehabilitation services in Victoria, Nabenet has been able to continuously enhance their services and add locations over the years in this expanding market.”
Riverside vice president Kevin Xu added: “With nearly 30 years in the business, Nabenet has built an enviable reputation and market position in Victoria’s occupational and rehabilitation market. The addition of Nabenet to the Altius platform is an important step on our mission to elevate the wellbeing of Australian workplaces and communities by preventing and resolving mental and physical health issues, enabled by a talented allied health workforce and innovative technology.”
Partner Nick Speer and senior associate Ash Sorrenti also worked on the Nabenet acquisition.