CHARLOTTE, N.C. – July 16, 2026 – Ridgemont Equity Partners ("Ridgemont"), a middle market private equity investor, today announced the acquisition of Caring Transitions (or the "Company"), a leading provider of senior move management services and online estate and liquidation services through CTBids, its captive digital marketplace. Ridgemont is partnering with experienced digital marketplace operators and investors Joshua Ellstein and Michael Felman of Coogee Bay Partners, who will serve as Co-Executive Chairmen and work alongside Caring Transitions President Joe Lewandowski and the existing leadership team to support the Company’s continued growth.
Founded in 2006, Caring Transitions operates a nationwide franchise network dedicated to helping older adults and their families navigate major life transitions through relocation, downsizing, and home cleanout services. The CTBids digital auction platform is fully integrated with the Company’s concierge offering and enables the franchisees to provide estate sale services to complete the move management process. Caring Transitions supports families during some of life's most significant moments while empowering local franchise owners to make a meaningful impact on their communities.
“Caring Transitions has built a strong brand and unique position in the senior services market, thanks to the leadership of Joe and the Caring Transitions team,” said Charles Anderson, Partner at Ridgemont Equity Partners. “This investment is a great fit for Ridgemont and sits at the intersection of several focus areas for us, given our collective experience with businesses serving aging populations, home-based services, digital platforms, and nationally scaled brands with locally delivered services.” Kelly Lineberger, Partner at Ridgemont added: “Josh and Mike have been close executive relationships of Ridgemont’s since 2018, and we have been eager to partner with them again. Caring Transitions is the ideal opportunity – we are aligned with their interest in serving this powerful demographic wave and highly confident in our combined ability to create value and drive growth, particularly through CTBids.”
“This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for Caring Transitions. Ridgemont and Coogee Bay share our commitment to supporting franchisees, serving families with compassion, and preserving the values that have defined our brand for nearly two decades. Their investment and strategic expertise will help us continue enhancing the resources and support we provide across our network, while remaining focused on the people and communities we serve every day,” added Joe Lewandowski, President of Caring Transitions.
“We immediately recognized and admired Caring Transitions' mission-driven and differentiated service offering that is supported across the country by its 300+ dedicated franchise owners,” Joshua Ellstein and Michael Felman of Coogee Bay Partners said in a joint statement. “CTBids has demonstrated rapid growth, strong KPIs, and attractive liquidity dynamics, powered by a vast community of buyers who are passionate about discovering unique finds through estate sales. The digital auction platform has proven a profitable venture for franchisees – a majority of whom cited CTBids as a key factor in their decision to purchase a franchise and a clear advantage over the competition – making it an exceptionally logical adjacent offering to the Caring Transitions move management services.”
“We believe there is tremendous opportunity to continue to grow and modernize the CTBids platform, elevate the customer experience, and facilitate a historic shift of goods as the aging population downsizes,” Ellstein and Felman added. “With this in mind, we are expanding the Board of Directors to include Phil Michaelson, who has extensive experience scaling auction sites and will be a value-added advisor to our strategy.”
Livingstone Partners served as financial advisor to Caring Transitions. Boxwood Partners served as financial advisor to Ridgemont and Coogee Bay. Kohnen & Patton served as legal advisor and Katz, Sapper & Miller served as tax advisor to Caring Transitions. Alston & Bird and Greenberg Traurig served as legal advisors to Ridgemont and Coogee Bay. Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Apogem Capital LLC.