VetCor Closes Recapitalization
VetCor Group Holdings Corp. (“VetCor” or “the Company”) completed a recapitalization led by Oak Hill Capital Partners (“Oak Hill”), Harvest Partners, LP (“Harvest”), Cressey & Company, LP (“Cressey”), and the VetCor management team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
VetCor is one of the largest operators of veterinary hospitals in the U.S., managing 272 locations across 28 states and employing approximately 900 veterinarians. VetCor hospitals provide a full range of general medical and surgical services for pets, as well as pharmacy needs and ancillary services such as boarding, grooming, and pet products. The management team of VetCor, led by CEO Dan Adams, will continue to lead the Company.
“We are incredibly excited to grow our business with our new partner, Oak Hill, and continue our partnership with Cressey and Harvest, both of whom have been valuable strategic and financial partners,” said CEO Dan Adams. “We will continue to expand our footprint and develop a thriving ecosystem for our veterinarians and clients to best serve our communities.”
“We are excited to reinvest in VetCor and continue to support Dan Adams, Peter DeFeo, and the rest of the VetCor team in its next phase of growth. VetCor is well-positioned to continue its consolidation strategy in a fragmented and growing market,“ said Jay Wilkins, Partner at Harvest. “VetCor has established itself as a leading platform in the veterinary services space. We look forward to partnering with Oak Hill and continuing our partnership with management as VetCor builds upon its long history of organic and acquisition-related growth,” added Merrick Axel, Partner at Cressey.
Jefferies LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to VetCor. Jefferies LLC and Golub Capital underwrote and arranged first and second lien financing in connection with the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Oak Hill. White & Case LLP served as legal counsel to Harvest Partners. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to Cressey. Ira Kleinman, Stephen Carlson, James Mitchel and Joshua Carter from Harvest Partners also worked on the transaction.
About VetCor
VetCor, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Hingham, MA, owns and operates a national family of 272 veterinary hospitals employing over 4,700 veterinarians and supporting staff. VetCor hospitals provide a full range of general medical and surgical services for pets, as well as pharmacy needs and ancillary services such as boarding, grooming, and pet products. The Company has distinguished itself by promoting the local identity of each hospital, offering a family friendly work environment, providing management, training and administrative support to its hospitals, and relying on the veterinarians of each hospital to manage their medical direction. For more information, please visit www.vetcor.com.
About Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oak Hill is a private equity firm managing funds with more than $12 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 30 years, Oak Hill and its predecessors have invested in over 85 significant private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: Consumer, Retail & Distribution; Industrials; Media & Communications; and Services. For more information, please visit www.oakhillcapital.com.
About Harvest Partners
Founded in 1981, Harvest Partners, LP is a leading New York-based private equity investment firm pursuing management buyouts and recapitalizations of middle market companies in North America. Harvest focuses on acquiring profitable companies in the business services and consumer, healthcare services, industrial and energy services, and manufacturing and industrial sectors. For more information, please visit www.harvestpartners.com.
About Cressey & Company
Based in Chicago, IL and Nashville, TN, Cressey & Company is a private investment firm focused on building leading healthcare services and information technology businesses. With a history spanning more than 35 years, the Cressey & Company team is one of the most experienced and successful in the healthcare private equity field. For more information, please visit www.cresseyco.com.