(Missoula Current) A health care company based in Missoula this week announced a new business combination that will enable it to become a publicly held company.

Consumer Direct Holdings and DTRT Health Acquisition Corp. said the newly combined company will become Consumer Direct Care Network once the transaction closes. It will be listed under the Nasdaq symbol “CDCN” and headed by Ben Bledsoe, who currently serves as Consumer Direct's president and CEO.

“We are pleased to be partnering with DTRT,” said Bledsoe. “Their financial resources will allow us to invest in our growth and further our core mission of ensuring accountability and value in the management of public funds, transparency in communication and excellence in service delivery to program participants and their caregivers.”

Based in Missoula, Consumer Direct is a national personal care provider that offers in-home care assistance and customer service to older adults, along with those with disabilities who require long-term care and support with daily activities.

The company was founded in 1990 and, over the past year, its 95,000 caregivers have provided care to more than 75,000 clients across 14 states.

Mark Heaney, the CEO of DTRT Health Acquisition Corp., called the merger an honor.

“Consumer Direct Holdings is led by a tenured group of committed home care professionals passionate about making it possible for people to live where they want to live, for as long as they want to live there,” said Heaney. “Highly respected in the states in which it operates, CDH has earned a reputation as an innovative leader in the provision of self-directed personal care services.”

According to Consumer Direct, the transaction is expected to create a combined company with $300 million in total liquidity, providing adequate funding for ongoing operations, development and expansion.

The transaction will require the approval of the stockholders of both DTRT and CDH, and it remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

Consumer Direct has grown its presence in Missoula and surrounding states in recent years. In 2017, it opened its new $23 million headquarters off Howard Razer Drive in Missoula. The campus has additional room for growth.

In 2019, the company also added a $500 million contract with Washington state to oversee caregivers and clients in that state.

“We are pleased to be partnering with DTRT,” Bledsoe said. “(Heaney) and his team have very relevant healthcare industry experience which aligns well with our operating model.”

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