Abstract
Purpose :
To describe geographic and temporal trends in private equity (PE) backed acquisitions of ophthalmology and optometry practices in the United States from 2012 to 2021.
Methods :
Acquisition data was compiled from 6 financial databases, 5 industry news outlets, and publicly available press releases. Financial database search for individual platform and practice acquisitions. Data gathered included number of total acquisitions, practice type, locations, provider details, and geographic footprint.Linear regression models were used to compare rates of acquisition. 245 PE acquisitions of ophthalmology and optometry practices in the United States between 10/21/2019 and 9/1/2021.
Results :
245 practices associated with 614 clinical locations and 948 ophthalmologists or optometrists were acquired by 30 PE-backed platform companies. 18 of 30 platform companies were new compared to our prior study. Of these acquisitions, 127, 29, and 89 were comprehensive, retina, and optometry practices, respectively. Monthly acquisitions increased by 0.947 acquisitions per year (p<0.001*). Texas, Florida, Michigan, and New Jersey were the states with the greatest number of acquisitions with 55, 48, 29, 28 clinic acquisitions, respectively. Average monthly PE acquisitions were 5.71 per month from 1/1/2019 - 2/29/2020 (pre-COVID), 5.30 per month 3/1/2020-12/31/2020 (COVID pre-vaccine, p=0.8072), and were 8.78/month 1/1/2021-9/1/2021 (COVID post-vaccine, p=0.1971).
Conclusions :
PE acquisitions increased from 2012-2021 as companies continue to utilize both regionally focused and multi-state models of add-on acquisitions.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.