Capital One Financial to acquire Edina health care investment bank

The Edina health care investment banking firm TripleTree will become part of Capital One under a deal announced Friday.

Founded in 1997, the boutique firm has completed more than 200 investment deals, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and strategic advisory deals.

TripleTree's head of investment banking, Justin Roth, will continue to lead TripleTree as a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital One, the McLean, Va.-based bank holding company that is one of the 10 largest financial institutions in the U.S.

Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter. TripleTree's sister firm, TT Capital Partners, is not part of the deal.

"As two organizations with a passion for the health care industry and a commitment to deep relationships, the cultural alignment between TripleTree and Capital One creates real opportunity to serve clients in new and more meaningful ways," Roth said in a news release. "This combination will accelerate TripleTree's growth trajectory and amplify our reach in the marketplace."

The market for health care-related M&A deals is strong, and TripleTree will add focus and experience to Capital One's existing health care business group. According to a report by advisory firm Baker Tilly, health care M&A deals were up 43% in the first half of 2021 compared with the same time in 2020.

TripleTree's 70 employees, including eight managing directors, will become part of Capital One Commercial Bank, which specializes in middle market companies in a variety of industries, including 40 health care subsectors.

"Now more than ever, it's essential to provide our clients with best-in-class solutions, products and services. Capital One and TripleTree together are well-positioned to help our health care clients navigate the ever-changing external landscape at every stage of their business," said Darren Alcus, head of Capital One's Corporate Bank, in a news release.

Currently, TripleTree and TT Capital Partners (TTCP) are both arms of TripleTree Holdings.

TripleTree is hired by companies to help sell companies or recapitalize them and has helped companies like TurningPoint Healthcare, a specialty care management services and technologies firm based in Florida, with a recent recapitalization and advised Minneapolis-based health analytics company Carrot Health, in its August 2021 acquisition by New York-based United Us.

TTCP makes investments in health care services and technology companies. It has more than 20 employees and will continue to operate independently, led by Kevin Green, executive chairman and co-founder, and CEO Dawn Owens.

"We just decided our ability to continue to grow and maximize the way in which these businesses participate in the marketplace, we would be well served by separating them as opposed to keeping them in the same organization," Owens said in an interview.

TTCP has made investments in 21 companies through its two growth equity funds, one of which is closed to new investments.

The firm specializes in small but established companies that have between $10 million and $30 million in annual revenue.

"A lot of times we are the first institutional capital coming into their businesses," Owens said.

Past investments by TTCP include St. Paul-based Emily Program, which operates eating disorder awareness, treatment and recovery programs, and Minneapolis-based Icario, a health technology and data science company.