Philly investors lead $34M addiction centers deal

LLR Partners, Philadelphia, is leading a $34 million investment in Sun Behavioral Health, a Red Bank (Monmouth County), N.J.-based company that is building a national chain of "freestanding psychiatric hospitals" that treat addictions, LLR said in a statement.

Previous investors NewSpring Capital (of Radnor) and HealthInvest, Petra Capital Partners and SV Life Sciences joined LLR in backing Sun. Sun opened a 148-bed facility in Houston in January, and plans additional hospitals in Georgetown, Del.; Columbus, Ohio; and Cincinnati's Kentucky suburbs. 

Sun sees behavioral health and addictions as a "signficant and growing unmet need," CEO Steve Page said in a statement. "Recent legislation" and has helped make Sun "well-positioned," said LLR vice president Elizabeth Campbell in a statement.

My colleague Harold Brubaker wrote about King of Prussia developer Brian O'Neill and Deerfield Management backing expansion of Recovery Centers of America in January, citing the impact of two federal laws -- the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) -- which "made addiction treatment an essential benefit."