Brentwood Capital Advisors is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Ascend Management Innovations (“Ascend” or the “Company”) in its sale to MAXIMUS (NYSE: MMS).

Founded in 1998 as Dual Diagnosis Management, the Company was purchased in 2007 through a management buyout and renamed Ascend.  Based in Nashville, Ascend is one of the largest providers of conflict-free assessment services on behalf of government agencies, which assist in determining the most appropriate treatment setting for program beneficiaries.  Ascend provides a broad array of assessment services and is a nationally recognized pioneer in serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral health diagnoses, and complex physical or medical conditions.

In addition to skilled clinical services, Ascend also provides states with data management tools to help government agencies plan, budget and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality and delivery of services to citizens.

“Ascend and MAXIMUS share a mission-centered approach to serving customers, making a strong cultural fit for both companies. Our customers will benefit from the resources and commitment that MAXIMUS brings to the Ascend platform,” said Teri Lepley, CEO and Co-Founder of Ascend.  “Brentwood Capital Advisors, our investment banker in this transaction, played a critical role in structuring a competitive process and closing a transaction that met all of the shareholders’ goals including maximizing value and finding the best partner for Ascend.  BCA provided extensive resources that were essential to the success of the transaction, and we would not have been able to complete this process without their support.”

“We were pleased to represent Ascend in this sale to MAXIMUS,” stated Tom Wylly Senior Partner of Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC.  “Ascend has built a tremendous record and reputation in the industry, and this transaction allowed founding shareholders to achieve liquidity while positioning Ascend to better serve its customers in the future through additional resources available as part of the MAXIMUS platform.”

About Ascend Management Innovations

Ascend is a national leader in providing conflict-free health care assessment services for state government agencies across the U.S. Ascend specializes in long-term care assessments for people with physical disabilities and complex medical conditions, and people with behavioral health, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. Ascend’s clinical services are supported by innovative technology solutions that generate quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Ascend and its employees strive to make a difference in the lives of those they serve.

About Brentwood Capital Advisors

Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Brentwood Capital Advisors (“BCA”) is one of the South’s leading boutique investment banks that provides mergers and acquisitions and capital raising advice to privately-held, middle market healthcare, technology and tech-enabled and outsourced services companies. BCA has served as exclusive financial advisor in over 73 successfully closed transactions totaling approximately $4.7 billion in value in these sectors. Founded in 1999, the firm is partner-owned and has sixteen investment banking professionals. For more information, visit www.brentwoodcapital.com.

About MAXIMUS

Since 1975, MAXIMUS has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People^®, enabling citizens around the globe to successfully engage with their governments at all levels and across a variety of health and human services programs. MAXIMUS delivers innovative business process management and technology solutions that contribute to improved outcomes for citizens and higher levels of productivity, accuracy, accountability and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. With more than 16,000 employees worldwide, MAXIMUS is a proud partner to government agencies in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.maximus.com.