Connections Health Solutions, an operator of 24/7 walk-in mental health crisis centers, could bring in a minority institutional investor alongside its existing backers as soon as late 2027, CEO Colin LeClair said.

Proceeds would likely go toward accelerating growth and provide some liquidity for existing investors, though he said “nobody wants out.”

The Phoenix-based company has raised more than USD 70m in equity across two rounds. Heritage Group, which took a stake of about 80% when it first invested, currently owns close to 50%, with Town Hall Ventures holding north of 18%, the co-founders north of 10%, and management the balance, LeClair said.

While the plan is a minority stake sale, a takeout by a large strategic buyer could not be ruled out, he said. Large institutional inpatient psychiatric operators are a logical fit because Connections Health is disruptive to that model and those operators are shifting toward value-based care, LeClair said. The company, however, may become too large for them to acquire near-term, he noted.

An initial public offering is unlikely for now, as the company would need to be larger and more diversified by market, though LeClair said it lends itself to that eventually. Later-stage private equity is the more likely route.

LeClair said his “best guess” is that Connections Health would currently trade at around 17x EBITDA.

The company has a revenue run rate of just under USD 200m and is growing at about 35% CAGR, LeClair said. It expects to turn EBITDA positive at the enterprise level in September. Each center is contribution-margin positive from day one because the company contracts on a professional capitated basis, according to LeClair. Under professional capitation, a provider receives a fixed payment per patient for clinician services rather than billing for each service delivered.

Connections Health designs and operates behavioral health crisis systems for counties, states, Medicaid managed care plans, and health systems. Its centers take walk-ins and first-responder drop-offs from police and ambulance crews and accept anyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay.

A visit moves through a walk-in psychiatric urgent care, a 23-hour observation unit, and, where more time is needed, a subacute unit with beds. A post-discharge program then connects patients to community treatment over about 45 days. Connections Health also runs mobile crisis teams.

LeClair said Connections Health can replace about 67% of inpatient psychiatric admissions at about 25% of the cost. According to the company, 60% to 70% of behavioral health crises are stabilized within 24 hours, and it generated USD 72m in net savings for community and payer partners in 2025 while avoiding 155,000 psychiatric inpatient days.

Connections Health has seven centers in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and California, plus mobile crisis teams in Montana and Pennsylvania. A center is set to open in Loudoun County, Virginia, in about two months, with a second Seattle location expected by the end of 2027.

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, is funding a USD 21m center in King of Prussia opening in December 2026, up from the USD 18m announced in 2024, drawing on federal and county pandemic relief money, opioid settlement funds, and state block grants. Other customers include the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and Department of Public Health.

The company intends to add four to five centers a year for the next several years and can do so “without adding meaningfully to corporate overhead,” LeClair said. Each center generates about USD 20m in revenue at baseline scale.

Connections Health was co-founded in 2009 by psychiatrists Chris Carson and Robert Williamson. LeClair joined in 2019 as chief growth officer, took on the additional role of CFO later that year, and became CEO in 2020. He previously led business development at ConcertoHealth, where revenue grew more than 8x over four years, and ran OptumCare’s California accountable care business.

Other players in the walk-in psychiatric urgent care and crisis stabilization space include Recovery Innovations, Telecare, MIND 24-7, Community Bridges, Crestwood Behavioral Health, and Exodus Recovery. Adjacent providers of acute inpatient psychiatric care include Universal Health Services and Acadia Healthcare, while Behavioral Health Link operates in crisis call and mobile response.

Recent transactions have involved adjacent traditional behavioral healthcare providers. In 2025, Webster Equity Partners-backed Oceans Healthcare acquired Haven Behavioral Healthcare; Clearview Capital acquired Advantage Behavioral Health; and SUN Behavioral Health acquired the home- and community-based services division of Seaside Healthcare. Acadia Healthcare completed its acquisition of Turning Point Centers in 2024.

Connections Health has just under 1,200 employees and expects to reach 1,400 to almost 1,500 by the end of the year. The company works with law firm Sheppard Mullin.