3 local transactions top June M&A activity

By: G.F. Gay Le Breton and Alexander Aguilar July 11, 2022
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Metairie-based OutSolve LLC completed its eighth acquisition in June with the purchase of Taapestry, the affirmative action division of DirectEmployers Association.

OutSolve assists enterprises to comply with regulations set by the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The Taapestry transaction bolsters OutSolve’s focus on providing enterprise-level affirmative action solutions, and meeting the growing trend of large federal contractors seeking all-encompassing compliance services. Taapestry customers will gain access to OutSolve’s full-service compliance assistance, including compensation, state pay reporting, EEO-1/VETS reporting, training, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and ESG services.

“Over the past few years, OutSolve has evolved to meet the demands of a shifting environment,” OutSolve president Jeremy Mancheski said. “We invested in developing a unique combination of compliance and non-compliance services to address the surge of new laws and new corporate expectations. This purchase not only underscores our desire to grow but to show up for contractors by developing real solutions to present-day challenges.”

Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Taapestry expands OutSolve’s locations to eight states. The company’s growth by acquisition followed the purchase of a majority interest in OutSolve in 2016 by two private equity groups, LNC Partners and Five Points Capital. That investment provided OutSolve access to both significant additional capital and strategic expertise to support the company’s growth strategies. OutSolve was founded in 1998.

Also last month, Access Respiratory Homecare LLC (ARH), headquartered in Metairie, sold to Quipt Medical Corp., an end-to-end respiratory care equipment company. The acquisition provides publicly-traded Quipt entry into Louisiana, giving the company a presence in both the greater New Orleans area and Lafayette while also granting access to difficult-to-obtain commercial insurance contracts.

With the ARH acquisition, Quipt will add 1,000 referring physicians, bringing its referring network base to more than 20,600, and it will increase its active patients by 6,000, bringing Quipt’s total to over 190,000. Greg Crawford, chairman and CEO of Quipt, sees the acquisition as an opportunity to “land and expand.”

“Our resupply program is an immediate actionable revenue synergy for us,” he said.

A significant influence for Quipt’s interest in this acquisition is the Louisiana location. A key target patient group for Quipt are people suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (“COPD”). With around 304,000 people diagnosed with the disease, Louisiana ranks among the highest prevalence of COPD in the United States. ARH has a heavily weighted respiratory product mix, which contains pediatric patients on therapy.

In another transaction of local interest, the New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union (Firemen’s FCU) agreed to acquire West Jefferson Federal Credit Union (West Jefferson FCU). The merger will increase the Firemen’s FCU’s total assets by $8.1 million to an estimated $255.1 million. The merged companies will operate under the Firemen’s FCU brand. After completion, the Firemen’s FCU will have 10 branches and around 28,000 members.

G.F. Gay Le Breton is managing director for Chaffe & Associates Inc., responsible for the merger and acquisition activities of the firm. Alexander Aguilar is a financial analyst with the firm.

Investment banking services are provided by Chaffe Securities Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.