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Advisor to Vantage Living on the Sale to Aster JV Limited Partnership

THE WORK

Vantage Living (Vantage) provides housing, hospitality, and health services to seniors across BC and Alberta. The organization improves the quality of life of residents by creating a welcoming and vibrant community that fosters meaningful relationships at all levels of care.

In August 2021, Vantage’s four Long-Term Care facilities were acquired by Aster JV Limited Partnership (AgeCare Health Services Inc. & Axium Infrastructure), a national provider of aging in place communities for seniors. Vantage engaged Incite in February of 2021, five months prior to the targeted close date of the deal. It was vital for the organization to bring on a communications advisory firm during the initial planning stages of the acquisition to develop an effective communications strategy that would keep internal and external stakeholders informed and aligned, while driving post-deal success.

Working with the Vantage leadership team, Incite created an efficient and consistent plan to guide the team through to the close of the transaction while managing sensitive communications timelines with the union, health authorities, government, and general public. First, Incite worked with the Vantage team to identify priority stakeholder groups, their needs and pains, and potential risks in communicating. Leveraging this information, Incite developed a communications strategy to help align stakeholder perceptions about the transaction, manage expectations, champion the change, and mitigate the risk of staff departure post-transaction. As part of the transaction strategy, Incite created a tactical communications plan that outlined key activities, tying them to critical dates within the deal process and identifying ownership of the tasks.

”The communications strategy and advisory Incite provided for Vantage Living helped bolster the seller’s confidence in preparation for transaction close. When dealing with health authorities, government, families, residents, and staff, it was vital Vantage Living communicated to the right people, in the right sequence, at the right time, and our work ensured their executive was well-equipped to do so.

Dania SpillettPartner, Incite

RELEVANCE 

Through our work with Vantage Living, Incite: 

  • Outlined profiles for all pre-deal audiences, including their communication needs, potential areas for concern, and effective mediums for communications  
  • Developed key messaging and laid out critical communication points for each of the relevant stakeholders 
  • Crafted a 100-day action plan identifying key communications activities, priority messages, and opportunities to engage internal and external audiences 
  • Advised Vantage on communications best practices, how to navigate crucial internal conversations, and ideal timelines for disseminating messages