January 31, 2019
BOSTON, MA - The Stepping Stones Group (Stepping Stones), a leading national provider of therapy and behavioral health services to children in the K-12 educational setting, today announced its partnership with The Perfect Playground OT, PT, & SLP, PLLC (The Perfect Playground), a New York-based therapy company. Under the arrangement, The Stepping Stones Group will serve as a services organization and provide administrative support to The Perfect Playground in its provision of high-quality therapeutic services to children in New York public schools. The companies will work together to expand The Perfect Playground’s market presence in New York.
“We are excited about our new partnership with The Perfect Playground. Patrick and his team have built a terrific organization over the past 15 years. They are trusted by both New York school officials and parents in their delivery of critical therapies for children with developmental delays and challenges. We believe that The Stepping Stones Group’s capabilities will advance The Perfect Playground’s mission and business objectives,” said Tim Murphy, the Chief Executive Officer of The Stepping Stones Group.
“After methodically reviewing our options to better serve our stakeholders in the coming years, the decision to enter into a partnership with The Stepping Stones Group was an easy and obvious choice. Their capabilities and alignment with our mission will make for a fruitful relationship between our companies, and most importantly the children we serve,” noted Perfect Playground’s Owner and Executive Director Patrick DeMarco.
Under the management service agreement, The Stepping Stones Group will provide The Perfect Playground with a variety of back-office and administrative services to support expansion. The Perfect Playground will continue as the direct contracting company to its existing and new clients in New York and will directly employ and supervise its therapists.
“I am confident that The Stepping Stones services will make The Perfect Playground a more effective organization. I look forward to working closely with Patrick on day-to-day matters to make our partnership mutually beneficial,” said The Stepping Stones Group’s President and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Rintala.
Stepping Stones is a portfolio company of Five Arrows Capital Partners, the North American corporate private equity business of Rothschild Merchant Banking.
“Five Arrows Capital Partners is proud to continue our support of The Stepping Stones Group’s management team as they expand the company’s national footprint. The partnership with The Perfect Playground is consistent with our goal to support the delivery of high-quality services to children in need of developmental therapies and behavioral services” stated Michael Langer, Managing Director of Five Arrows Capital Partners.
About The Stepping Stones Group
The Stepping Stones Group is a leading provider of therapy and behavioral health services to children including those with special needs and autism in the K-12 educational setting. The company serves over 400 school districts and 65,000 students annually across over 30 states. With over 30 years of experience, our team consists of over 1,300 licensed clinicians and special educators dedicated to delivering high-quality therapeutic and behavioral health services. The company is privately held by Five Arrows Capital Partners, the North American corporate private equity business of Rothschild Merchant Banking. For more information about the company, please visit https://thesteppingstonesgroup.com/.
About The Perfect Playground
Founded in 2003, The Perfect Playground has been providing a range of therapy services for children, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology, to school systems throughout the boroughs of New York City. The company also operates a specialized, comprehensive outpatient therapy clinic offering high-quality therapeutic services in Staten Island. For more information on The Perfect Playground please visit http://www.theperfectplaygroundny.com/.
About Five Arrows Capital Partners
Five Arrows Capital Partners is the North American corporate private equity business of Rothschild Merchant Banking (RMB), the investment arm of Rothschild & Co. With offices in London, Paris, Luxembourg, New York, and Los Angeles, RMB has over $10 billion of assets under management. Like RMB’s European corporate private equity business, Five Arrows Capital Partners is focused on investing in middle-market companies with highly defensible market positions, business models with a proven history of generating attractive returns on invested capital across economic cycles, and multiple untapped levers for value creation. The sector focus of FACP is on healthcare; business services; and data, software & technology-enabled services. For more information, please visit https://www.rothschild.com/en/merchant-banking/.
CONTACTS
The Stepping Stones Group LLC
Tiffany Baxter
678-264-0533
tiffany@thesteppingstonesgroup.com
Rothschild Merchant Banking
Brunswick Group
Alex Yankus / Aziz Nayani
212-333-3810
ROTHSCHILD@brunswickgroup.com
