Home-based senior care and personal-support-worker agencies across Ontario — the staff are the business more than the equipment ever is, and the agency's Ontario Health atHome contract is a funding relationship, not an asset that quietly follows the sale. This is a different deal than buying a licensed retirement home: there's no site licence to transfer, but the funder's own consent process usually sets the pace.
Part of Education & Care — see the family overview.
Every figure below is a typical Canadian deal-market pattern, not a valuation — use it to sanity-check what you're being told.
| Metric | Typical benchmark | Use this to |
|---|---|---|
| Contract-revenue concentration | The share of revenue coming from Ontario Health atHome contracts versus private-pay clients affects both risk and how much consent-process friction the deal carries.† | Weigh how much of the value depends on a contract the funder still has to approve. |
| Valuation convention | Priced off a multiple of normalized earnings adjusted for verified billable hours, not roster headcount or client-list size.† | Test whether a price built on staff numbers actually reflects billable, revenue-generating hours. |
| PSW retention and turnover | Staffing stability is a distinct value driver in a sector with a chronic, sector-wide personal-support-worker shortage.† | Weigh staff retention risk into your offer, not just the contract book. |
| Client-contract quality | The term length and renewal pattern of private-pay client agreements is a meaningful, separate revenue-quality marker from the funded contract book.† | Separate durable private-pay revenue from a book that could turn over quickly. |
| Compliance and complaint history | A clean record with the funder and applicable regulators supports both value and a smoother consent review.† | Flag risk the financials alone won't show. |
A service-provider agreement with Ontario Health atHome is a contract with the funder, not an asset that automatically follows the business — a change of control typically triggers the funder's own consent or re-tendering process, on its own schedule.
Client health information is protected under PHIPA, so transferring client records to a new owner isn't a simple handover — it has to be handled through the consent and safeguard rules the legislation actually requires.
PSW staffing is the business in a home-care agency more than any other asset on the books — WSIB standing and staff continuity affect not just operating capacity but the funder's own view of whether the agency can keep delivering care.
The same sequence underlies almost every senior care or home-care agency deal — what changes from deal to deal is how long each step takes, and which one becomes the bottleneck.
Reaching an agreement
The offer sets price and key terms — for a senior care or home-care agency it should build in the conditions that actually matter from day one, not just financing.
usually 1–2 weeks†The APS fixes price, structure — asset or share — and closing date, plus the reps, warranties, and holdbacks that protect you if diligence turns up something different than promised.
1–3 weeks to negotiate†Ontario Health at Home service-provider agreement consent, Client service contracts, PSW staffing & WSIB, Client records (PHIPA), Insurance/liability coverage all start moving at once, on separate clocks — this is usually where senior care or home-care agency deals are won or lost.
often the critical path†Getting to closing
Corporate, PPSA lien, and litigation searches confirm what you're actually buying; we chase down licence standing and records the seller doesn't always have to hand.
2–4 weeks, in parallel†Funds, keys, and signed documents change hands, alongside any inventory count and interim authorizations that bridge the gap until final transfers are confirmed.
1 day, once conditions are met†We track final licence confirmation and the staff transition through to completion — nothing is left for you to chase once the deal is done.
1–2 week tail†This is the first real decision in almost every senior care or home-care agency deal — and it changes what you're buying, what you're taking on, and how it's taxed.
| Question | Asset purchase | Share purchase |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The agency's assets — client contracts, staff roster, goodwill, and the name. | The shares of the corporation — including its existing funding relationships and liabilities. |
| Ontario Health atHome service-provider agreement | Not automatically assignable — the buyer typically needs the funder's consent, or the contract may go back out to tender. | Generally stays with the corporation, subject to the funder's own review of the change in control. |
| Client service contracts | Assigned individually, or re-contracted directly with the buyer. | Generally continue uninterrupted with the corporation. |
| Client records (PHIPA) | Transferred under the consent and safeguard requirements PHIPA sets for a change in custodian. | Stay with the corporation; the custodian doesn't change. |
| Tax angle | Buyer gets a stepped-up cost base on the assets purchased; an HST election may apply. | Seller may access the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualifying shares. |
| Staff | Employment continuity rules typically apply to how PSW staff carry forward. | Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change. |
| Typical use | Common where the buyer is building a platform from multiple agencies, or the funder relationship is being re-established under the buyer's own accreditation. | Common where continuity of an existing Ontario Health atHome agreement is the deal's central value driver. |
The agency's assets — client contracts, staff roster, goodwill, and the name.
The shares of the corporation — including its existing funding relationships and liabilities.
Not automatically assignable — the buyer typically needs the funder's consent, or the contract may go back out to tender.
Generally stays with the corporation, subject to the funder's own review of the change in control.
Assigned individually, or re-contracted directly with the buyer.
Generally continue uninterrupted with the corporation.
Transferred under the consent and safeguard requirements PHIPA sets for a change in custodian.
Stay with the corporation; the custodian doesn't change.
Buyer gets a stepped-up cost base on the assets purchased; an HST election may apply.
Seller may access the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualifying shares.
Employment continuity rules typically apply to how PSW staff carry forward.
Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change.
Common where the buyer is building a platform from multiple agencies, or the funder relationship is being re-established under the buyer's own accreditation.
Common where continuity of an existing Ontario Health atHome agreement is the deal's central value driver.
We tell you which structure fits — before you sign anything.
Different lists depending on which side of the deal you're on — both matter for how smoothly closing goes.
No open-ended hourly surprises — the cost is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
| Type of work | Fee | How it's confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Straightforward purchase or sale | Starting from $3,388.87 Our charges · taxes included | Confirmed in writing once we see the agreement. |
| Larger or more complex deal | Quoted to scope | Short call → fixed written quote before any work begins. |
| Searches, filings & third-party fees | At cost | Itemized on your invoice, not marked up. |
A single home-care agency with one owner-operator and a straightforward client roster.
Start my file →A multi-branch agency, a deal where funder consent or re-tendering is a live question, or a platform acquisition folding in several smaller agencies.
Book a consultation →Not sure which you are? That's our job to figure out, not yours. As a rough guide, most deals under a couple of million dollars are the first kind — above that, you're usually in Mergers & Acquisitions territory.
†Typical patterns across Canadian deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
Generally not automatically — a change of control typically triggers the funder's own consent process, and in some cases the contract can be re-tendered rather than assigned. That review usually sets the pace for the whole deal, so we scope it early rather than assuming it's a formality.
A retirement home's site licence is tied to the physical building and a different regulatory regime. A home-care agency's core asset is its funder contract and its staff — there's no site licence to transfer, but the funding relationship carries its own consent process that a retirement-home deal doesn't have.
Client health information is protected under PHIPA, so records move under the notice and safeguard requirements the legislation sets for a change in the organization holding them — it's a planned, documented transfer, not a simple handover of a client list.
Given how staffing-dependent this sector is, we typically build retention terms for key PSWs into the deal rather than leaving continuity to chance, and we look closely at turnover history during diligence because it affects both operating capacity and how the funder views the transition.
It depends heavily on the funder relationship. Where continuity of an existing Ontario Health atHome agreement is the deal's central value, a share sale is often preferred because the contract stays with the corporation rather than needing to be re-established. Where that's less of a factor, an asset sale is more common.
| Resource | Official link |
|---|---|
| Ontario Health atHome Home and community care funding and service-provider agreements | Visit www.ontariohealthathome.ca |
| Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario — PHIPA Health-information transfer rules | Visit www.ipc.on.ca |
| WSIB Employer account standing | Visit www.wsib.ca |
| Employment Standards Act — general guide Staff continuity on a sale | Visit www.ontario.ca |
Where we close senior care or home-care agency deals
Tell us about your senior care or home-care agency deal — we'll point you the right way and confirm the cost in writing before any work begins.