Private Equity Firms Buying Veterinary Practices

Veterinary medicine has become one of the most active corners of healthcare for private equity. Pet ownership and spending on pet care have grown steadily, care has become more advanced, and most practices are still owned by the veterinarians who founded them. Groups backed by private equity buy those practices and take over much of the business side, from staffing and purchasing to technology and marketing, so the veterinarians can spend more of their time on medicine.

Buyers fall into a few groups. General practice groups buy single and multi-doctor clinics that handle wellness, vaccines and everyday care. Specialty and emergency groups buy referral hospitals in fields such as surgery, internal medicine, oncology and critical care, which tend to be larger and more complex. Some groups use a partnership model in which the selling veterinarian keeps a meaningful ownership stake in their own practice.

In diligence, buyers look at revenue per veterinarian, the mix of wellness, sick and emergency visits, client and patient counts and how many return each year, staffing levels for doctors and technicians, and the condition of the building and equipment. Recruiting is a central question, since a practice that depends on one or two doctors is harder to grow and riskier to own. Buyers also ask whether the practice owns its real estate, which is often handled as a separate sale or lease.

Expect a buyer to ask you to keep treating patients for a few years and to reinvest some of your proceeds alongside it. Before agreeing, find out who will make clinical calls, how your pay and hours will change, how long the commitment runs, how far a non-compete would reach, and what your reinvested stake is worth if the group is later sold. A few states have rules on who may own or direct a veterinary practice, which can shape how a deal is structured.

Greymont is paid by buyers, never by owners. Whether you want a full sale or a partnership that lets you keep practicing, Greymont can help you compare the groups that fit your practice and your goals.