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Strategic Advisor·Behavioral Health

Kerr Robertson

Managing Director, Healthcare Group at Houlihan Lokey

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

KR
LinkedIn
Why they matter

20+ year healthcare M&A banker now covering behavioral health at Houlihan Lokey, with a track record on $100B+ of services and healthcare real estate deals.

Background

Kerr Robertson is a Managing Director in Houlihan Lokey's Healthcare Group, based in Charlotte, where he covers behavioral healthcare and other healthcare services since joining in January 2024. He came to Houlihan Lokey from William Blair, where he spent six years as a Partner and Managing Director in healthcare investment banking focused on behavioral health, post-acute/home health, healthcare staffing, radiology/imaging, and specialty pharmacy, and prior to that spent 15 years at Wells Fargo Securities' healthcare group. Over his career he has completed more than 150 advisory and capital-raising transactions worth over $100 billion.

Notable deals

  • 2014
    Advised on Emeritus Corporation's $2.8 billion merger with Brookdale Senior Living, creating the largest U.S. senior living company
  • 2014
    Advised The Ensign Group on its tax-free spin-off creating CareTrust REIT

Call-prep brief

Background

  • MD, Healthcare Group at Houlihan Lokey (Charlotte), joined January 2024 after 6 years at William Blair (Partner/MD, healthcare IB) and 15 years at Wells Fargo Securities.
  • MBA, Wharton; B.S. Biology, UNC Chapel Hill; early career at Coram Healthcare (home infusion).

Current focus

  • Behavioral healthcare and adjacent healthcare services (post-acute/home health, staffing, radiology/imaging, specialty pharmacy) as part of HL's healthcare services coverage under global healthcare head Mark Francis and co-head Mike Pisani.

What he cares about

  • Building HL's behavioral health platform from scratch post-move; likely eager to demonstrate deal flow and sector credibility in his new seat.
  • Long track record (150+ deals, $100B+) suggests he values scaled, well-positioned platforms over speculative early-stage assets.

Recent moves

  • Moved from William Blair to Houlihan Lokey in Jan 2024 alongside Dudley Baker (HCIT-focused MD); part of a broader HL healthcare group buildout that also added Jay Ferguson for pharma services.

Potential sensitivities

  • Non-compete/non-solicit obligations from William Blair may limit discussion of specific pipeline overlap for a period after his 2024 move.
  • New to HL — may be cautious about speaking on behalf of the platform vs. his personal view until fully ramped.

Questions to ask

  1. What behavioral health sub-sectors (ABA, MH/SUD, autism, PHP/IOP) is he seeing the most sponsor and strategic interest in right now?
  2. Since building out HL's behavioral coverage in 2024, what has changed in buyer appetite or valuation multiples versus his William Blair-era deals?
  3. Given his Emeritus/Brookdale and Ensign/CareTrust experience, how does he think about REIT or real-estate-heavy structures for a behavioral health roll-up?

Outreach draft

Subject
Behavioral health rollup — quick advisory call?
Hi Kerr, I came across your move to Houlihan Lokey's Healthcare Group and your background advising on behavioral health and healthcare services transactions at William Blair, including the Emeritus/Brookdale merger and the Ensign/CareTrust spin-off. We're a private equity team evaluating a buy-and-build strategy in behavioral health and would value your read on current sector dynamics — buyer appetite, valuation trends, and where you're seeing the best platform opportunities. Would you have 20-30 minutes in the next couple of weeks for a call? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Your Name]

Linked companies

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