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When Group Dentistry Now started in 2014, there was certainly not as much M&A and de novo activity in the dental industry as there is now. In fact, it was uncommon to find documentation of this activity. In our early days we felt fortunate to publish deals a couple of times a month.
Fast forward to 2021 and we find it challenging to cover all of the new DSO formations, practice acquisitions and new practice buildouts that are occurring while still providing our audience with balanced content that they’ve come to rely on. Hence the need for a regular DSO Deals update article. On a quarterly basis we will keep our audience informed with the latest DSO deal activity with an exclusive update synopsis.
If you don’t see your deals, practice acquisitions or de novos, but would like us to include them in the DSO Deals update, please send your press to info@groupdentistrynow.com.
Of course, we still will continue to feature in-depth articles on DSOs, but with the level of activity in the industry, we want to make sure we cover as much as possible.
January 2021
Oxford Finance Leads $107 Million Upsize Financing for Specialty Dental Brands
Oxford Finance LLC, a specialty finance firm that provides senior debt to healthcare services and life sciences companies worldwide, announced the closing of a $107 million senior credit facility to Specialty Dental Brands, a dental services organization focused on pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, and oral surgery.
Private equity group makes investment in Colorado Springs dental chain
Los Angeles-based private equity investment firm, Varsity Healthcare Partners, made a major investment in the fast-growing, Colorado Springs-based dental practice group, Peak Dental Services . Varsity’s investment is expected to finance acquisitions and new practices for five years or more in major metro areas in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Ore, Salt Lake City and Seattle.
Firmament Backs Veteran Team to Launch Independence Dental
The Firmament Group a provider of tailored debt and equity capital solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises, announced the formation and launch of Independence Dental Services LP, an integrated dental services organization (DSO) with eight initial constituent practices. Learn more about Independence Dental here.
Firmament Supports GPS Dental Platform Expansion
The Firmament Group also announced an investment in GPS Dental, LLC, a Jonesboro, Arkansas-based dental services organization (DSO) that manages seventeen dental practices across Arkansas, Indiana, and Tennessee.
Overcoming The Odds, MB2 Wraps Up 2020 Adding 81 New Practices, 70 New Doctor Owners
Amidst a pandemic, the Dallas based Dental Partnership Organization was still able to surpass their 2019 growth, adding 81 new affiliated practices with 70 new doctor owners, 7 of which were de novos. Learn more here.
Audax Private Equity Announces Successful Closing of $1.7 billion Continuation Fund Led by AlpInvest Partners, Lexington Partners, and Hamilton Lane
Audax Private Equity announced the successful completion of its first Continuation Fund. The fund is comprised of $1.7 billion in capital commitments, which funded the purchase of portfolio companies from Audax Private Equity Fund IV, a 2012 vintage fund with $1.25 billion in capital commitments. The largest of these Fund IV assets include 42 North Dental, a dental practice management company in New England.
Seven DDS Dentures + Implant Solutions practices in Texas rebrand to Affordable Dentures & Implants
While all seven practices have changed their name, the clinical and management teams at each location have remained the same. Affordable Dentures & Implants was founded in 1975 in Kinston, North Carolina, and is the nation’s largest network of providers concentrating on affordable tooth replacement solutions, including dentures and implants.
Colosseum Dental Group to enter French market by acquiring Dentelia
Colosseum Dental Group (CDG) reached an agreement with Otium Capital, the current management team, and the founder and CEO Dr Alexandre Attia, to acquire a majority stake in Dentelia, a rapidly growing dental care provider in France. Dr Alexandre Attia will retain a significant equity position and drive the expansion of the group across France together with the current management team. The acquisition expands CDG’s footprint into France, the second-largest dental market in Europe with more than 300 dental practices in nine countries.
42 North Dental Continues Expansion into Maine with the Affiliation of Restorative & Aesthetic Dental Associates
42 North Dental, which supports 31 practice brands in 81 locations, welcomes Restorative & Aesthetic Dental Associates located in Portland, Maine to their portfolio of supported dental practices. This affiliation brings the total number of supported practices to 81 throughout the Northeast. The Portland, Maine practice becomes its second supported in the state.
ChildSmiles Acquires Pediatric Practices, Sparks Rebrand as SmileHealth
ChildSmiles Group, LLC announced the acquisition of two sizable primary care pediatric physician practices in Newark, New Jersey. Both practices have been in operation for over 30 years, providing high-quality primary care to underserved children in the Newark area. ChildSmiles now operates five large-footprint practices (with over 120 total operatories), a children’s ambulatory surgery center, and two primary care pediatric practices, employing over 350 employees. ChildSmiles believes that dental and primary care health services are highly complementary for pediatric patients and will be rebranding as SmileHealth later in 2021.
Comfort Dental Care & Orthodontics and its four multi-specialty locations acquired by Marquee Dental Partners, expanding its footprint into Florida
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Nashville, TN, Marquee Dental Partners has over 42 locations in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, and now Florida. Comfort Dental Care & Orthodontics was founded in 1995 by Dr. Alan Farrugia in Crestview, Florida and currently employs eight dentists in its four panhandle locations.
February 2021
Sentinel Exits MB2 Dental
Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in lower midmarket companies, announced the sale of MB2 Dental, a dental partnership organization (DPO.) During its partnership with Sentinel, MB2 grew from 85 affiliated practices to 275, and expanded its geographic footprint from six states to 24. In addition to MB2, Sentinel’s prior dental investments include Castle Dental and Metro Dentalcare, Northeast Dental Management, and ReachOut Healthcare America.
Guardian Dentistry Adds Four Dallas Practices
Guardian Dentistry Partners announced the addition of Mirror Lake Dentistry, with four dental practices across southeast Dallas, to its rapidly developing network of partnerships across the United States. Guardian now has nine partner practices in the state of Texas alone. Dr. Francom leads Mirror Lake Dentistry. His team of 30 professionals includes four other dentists. Founded in 2018, Guardian was featured on GDN’s Emerging Dental Groups to Watch in 2020.
42 North Dental Complete Affiliation of Six Practices in Six Weeks
42 North Dental now supports 82 practice locations throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. Their 32 unique brands range from large group practices in highly visible commercial areas, to single practices in professional buildings, and everywhere in between. The six practices are Wellesley Dental Group, The Center for Pediatric Dental Care & Orthodontics, Windham Dental Group, Groton Dental Group, Restorative and Aesthetic Dental Associates, JD Howard Dental.
Aspen Dental Expands Access to Dental Care in Sterling Heights, Michigan With Opening of 34th Practice in State
Aspen Dental has officially opened its doors in Sterling Heights, Michigan with the opening of a brand-new office, bringing a new local dentist to their community. This is the 34th Aspen Dental practice in the state of Michigan, as Aspen Dental continues to break down barriers and bring comprehensive, affordable care to patients across the country. Every Aspen Dental practice is equipped with an on-site denture laboratory. The Aspen Dental network includes more than 850 offices, in 42 states, owned and operated by independent practice owners and dentists. These independent practice owners expect to record six million patient visits in 2021.
dentalcorp Completes $200 Million Capital Raise
dentalcorp, Canada’s largest network of dental clinics, announced it has raised an additional $200 million, bringing the total to $500 million of capital commitments raised by the company in the past twelve months. The capital will be used to fund the company’s acquisition program, and its continued investment in technologies to advance the patient experience and overall clinical agenda. Jefferies Finance LLC acted as Administrative and Collateral Agent, and together with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and The Toronto-Dominion Bank as Joint Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.
Smile Brands Opens New Aspire Dental Location in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Leading the clinical team in the new Aspire dental office is Dr. Gregory Smith. Based in Irvine California, Smile Brands Inc. is one of the largest providers of support services to dental groups in the United States. The organization was founded in 1998 and supports 650 affiliated practices and 60 brands across 30 states.
Sage Dental Acquires Six Practices in Florida
Sage announced the acquisition of six new dental practices in south Florida, expanding the total number of locations to over 65. With the addition of six new practices, Sage Dental will serve more than 250,000 patients at 65 locations across Florida and Georgia. The new Florida practices are located in Margate, West Hollywood, Cypress Lakes, Lake Park, West Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach. Sage has not only continued to treat existing patients during the pandemic, but has also increased patient volumes to 105% of pre-pandemic levels, in part by offering flexible hours, affordable prices, and safe, effective care.
March 2021
Endo1Partners Secures $115 M Debt Facilities to Expand Growing Platform
The first-ever Endodontic Partnership Organization (EPO) has closed $115 million of debt facilities with Connecticut-based Webster Bank arranging the senior facility. The transactions, which closed on March 24, 2021, will enable Endo1 to accelerate rapid growth in new markets, while strengthening its position in existing markets. The closing of the debt facilities comes on the heels of Endo1 Partners’ most successful fiscal year. In 2020, the EPO formed new partnerships with 31 endodontic practices, added 53 new endodontists to its platform and expanded into six new states, adding Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Virginia to its roster. Endo1 was featured on GDN’s Emerging Groups to Watch in 2020 list.
Dental Care Alliance (DCA) announces its first affiliation of 2021, Mira Dental Care of Tysons Corner
Dental Care Alliance (DCA) announces its first affiliation of 2021, Mira Dental Care of Tysons Corner, in partnership with DCA-allied doctors, Drs. Riaz Rayek, April Kern and Stephen Price. The affiliation with Mira Dental of Tysons Corner marks DCA’s 30th allied practice in the Northern Virginia market. The supported practices operate under a variety of brand names and include general, cosmetic and specialty dental practices. DCA currently supports 330 allied practices and more than 750 dentists across 20 states. DCA’s allied practices represent all dental specialties and treat patients under more than 85 brand names.
ICV Partners Announces Majority Investment in Cherry Tree Dental
Cherry Tree Dental is a dental group in Wisconsin that employs a proven acquisition and office consolidation strategy dedicated to small, one or two-dentist practices. Founded in 2006 and based in Madison, Cherry Tree is the largest independent general dentistry provider in Wisconsin, operating 28 locations in 10 markets. Cherry Tree Dental is privately owned by a small group of partners, the majority of which are its participating dentists. The company owns and operates dental office locations in Sun Prairie, Stevens Point, Weston, Wausau, Marathon, Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Oshkosh, La Crosse, Appleton, Sheboygan and several greater-Milwaukee communities.
Deca Dental Group Expands into Third State with Acquisition of Washington Based Reign Dental
DECA Dental Group announced it has acquired Reign Dental. The acquisition represents the company’s second strategic expansion outside the state of Texas. They are entering the Washington market under our flagship Ideal Dental brand with the goal of expanding their presence throughout the Seattle Metropolitan area. Founded in Dallas, DECA Dental Group was founded in 2008. DECA has nearly 100 affiliated dental practices with a network of offices in Texas, Florida and now Washington. DECA’s culture is founded on a patient-centric model.
The Smilist Partners with Encore Dental
Encore Dental is a dental group with five offices located in Central New Jersey. It was established in 2012 by Drs. Christopher Emma, Michael Massaro, and Ryan Pannorfi. The Smilist was founded in 2014 and is led by Patricia Mahony, CEO. Since its founding, The Smilist has rapidly grown in the New York metro area, having affiliated with 46 dental groups and supporting 34 offices and with over 500 employees, including over 90 dentists and specialists, in New York and New Jersey. This strategic partnership with Encore Dental significantly increases The Smilist’s scale.
SurgePE’s Access Dental Closes $15MM in Add-ons
Surge Private Equity LLC announced the acquisition of Harlingen Family Dentistry, La Casa Dental, and two other multi-million dollar dentistry operations in El Paso by Dallas-based Access Dental Management LLC, its healthcare platform. With a reported transaction value of approximately $15 million, the deal closed with debt financing provided by Corbel Capital Partners. Founded in 1983, Harlingen Family Dentistry has built up a growing network of six large dentistry operations throughout South Texas. Established in 2008, Access Dental is a Texas community-driven dental support organization (DSO) with clinics throughout the state.
Aspen Dental Opens First Practice in Colorado
Aspen Dental has officially opened its doors in Westminster, Colorado with the opening of a brand-new office, bringing a renowned dentist, Dr. Laura Tappe, to the community. This is the first Aspen Dental practice in the state of Colorado. Dr. Tappe was the clinical director of a New Hampshire-based Aspen Dental practice for more than six years. Dr. Tappe and her team will provide a full range of dental services, create new jobs in the Westminster community, and improve access to quality oral healthcare, all at one location.
Smile Center Dental in Texas Joins Western Dental and Brident
Brident Dental & Orthodontics, an affiliate of Western Dental, announced Smile Center Dental and its seven offices in Texas are the latest practices to join the Western Dental/Brident family. Six of the Smile Center offices are located in the greater Austin area; a seventh is located in Beaumont. This affiliation brings Brident’s total number of offices in Texas to 75. Altogether, the Western Dental/Brident family of practices has 330 offices. They serve approximately 3 million patient visits annually in 330 affiliated offices throughout California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Alabama.
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