The nearly $600 million in tax-free bond issue meant to finance the sale of South Jersey’s Advantage Behavioral Health failed to attract enough investors last week, leading investment bankers to put the transaction on hold, Bond Buyer reported.
Despite the extremely high investment yield as high as 8.25%, portfolio managers were troubled by the heavy debt load that would have been placed on a company with a short track record and few hard assets backing it up, according to the trade publication.
Bond Buyer said that KeyBanc Capital Markets is working on restructuring the deal to salvage the sale of Advantage Behavioral by a private equity firm to a nonprofit called QCF Advantage LLC, which was created in April for the acquisition.
Representatives of the private equity firm, Connecticut-based Clearview Capital, and QCF Advantage, whose parent company is based in Houston, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Officials at Marlton-based Advantage could not be reached for comment.
Clearview took control of Advantage in April 2025, which means a successful sale would be a quick turnover by private equity standards.
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The proposed sale was notable not just because it would have increased Advantage’s debt by 12 times, according to Bloomberg Law, but also because of the structure that would have left Clearview and current executives as owners of a for-profit entity that would manage Advantage.
The proposed sale price was about $520 million, according preliminary bond documents. That price included $80 million being held back to see if Advantage hits profit targets after the sale. The company had $141.6 million in revenue in the 12 months that ended May 31.
Founded in 2017 in Camden County, Advantage also operates in Pennsylvania and six additional states. It offers intensive outpatient therapy through a business called Victory Bay and telehealth services through Harmony Bay. It also operates 17 sober-living houses under its Dignity Hall brand in Blackwood, Laurel Springs, Sicklerville, and several other South Jersey towns.
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