Brightstar Acquired By Pe Firm Peak Rock, Company’s Senior Living Growth Still Facing Headwinds

BrightStar Care was recently acquired by an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital through a partnership with founder Shelly Sun Berkowitz.

BrightStar is one of the largest providers of at-home care in the United States, with a franchise network of more than 400 locations. The company also has a senior living arm, BrightStar Senior Living, which in 2022 launched a small home model under the banner of BrightStar Care Homes.

The transaction with Peak Rock will enable accelerated growth, but in the near-term, that growth is likely to be focused more on the at-home care business rather than the senior living business, she told Senior Housing News’ sister publication, Home Health Care News, last week.

That’s because construction financing and building costs still remain prohibitively high, and there also is uncertainty around the effect of tariffs and other public policy moves. Certain projects still make sense, usually when a franchisee already has land and only needs to finance the construction of a care home, but care home growth has been measured.

However, Sun Berkowitz said she hopes that conditions become more favorable in the next two or three years, which will enable more aggressive growth in the senior living business.

Much thought went into the transaction with Peak Rock, given BrightStar’s long history of serving older adults in multiple settings since 2002, Sun Berkowitz said.

Following the transaction, Sun Berkowitz will remain a major shareholder and retain the ability to be an “active participant” in BrightStar’s future through her position on the board. She declined to share financial details of the transaction.

“I really felt like I had the commitment to the investments necessary and the collaboration in the boardroom with Peak Rock to be able to do that,” Sun Berkowitz said. “We believe this is the right partner, and we’re very supportive of the decision.”

Peak Rock Capital, a private equity company, has equity and debt investments in the U.S. and Europe with previous health care investments including infusion and pharmacy provider Paragon Healthcare. The firm sold Paragon in 2024 to Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV).

“I got very comfortable with private equity and health care, knowing that I had a seat at the table and knowing that they were willing to make the investments to accelerate some of the things that I see as important to our strategic vision and to our stakeholders,” Sun Berkowitz said.

One of the things that Sun Berkowitz said led to the transaction with Peak Rock was the organization’s past management of Paragon, noting there is “great alignment” on supporting BrightStar’s staff while “taking measured strides in new growth.”

When asked what might change for the company’s many franchise locations, Sun Berkowitz said “most everything” would not change following the acquisition by Peak Rock, noting that she’d spent the last two years being transparent with franchisees about her intentions to sell BrightStar.

In the next two to three years, Sun Berkowitz said, BrightStar will continue to invest in new technology to improve retention, drive recruitment and reduce turnover, while also enhancing marketing spending.

BrightStar’s Joint Commission-accredited continuum of care is also not changing, while all plans for additional support to BrightStar franchisees will continue, she said.

“I think what’s really exciting for our current franchisees, and the franchisees that are thinking about which brand to join, we absolutely will be fulfilling our leadership position in the industry in an accelerated way because of the investments that we know Peak Rock is aligned to make,” Sun Berkowitz said.

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