For many owners, selling their practice is the biggest financial transaction of their life. Working with an experienced broker helps make sure you achieve a sale that truly reflects all the hard work you’ve put in. A trusted, capable veterinary broker not only helps you secure the best price by creating competition among buyers, but also makes sure the sale aligns with your financial and business goals.
Some buyers might suggest selling on your own, and for good reason—if you sell solo, there’s a good chance you’ll leave a lot of money on the table and ‘gift’ your practice to them, without ever realizing what you missed out on in the first place. Here’s why choosing a broker is the smarter move.
What Makes Dr. Roger Redman an expert on this topic?
- Firsthand practice owner
- Previous corporate buyer work experience
- Dozens of practice transactions
How Ackerman Group Tailors Veterinary Practice Sales
At Ackerman Group, we begin by focusing on your long-term objectives: your goals for the next three to five years. From there, we help you negotiate a sale that not only aligns with your future aspirations but also ensures the best price, terms, and cultural fit. Here are some of the key issues and terms we guide you through and how we add value to your practice sale:
1. Add Backs & Expert Financial Analysis
Add Backs: We make sure every potential buyer begins on the same page by detailing the adjusted EBITDA (profits) before going to the market. This way, everyone understands the real earnings of your practice right from the start and all buyers start from the same baseline.
Specialized veterinary brokers really understand the ins and outs of your business and know exactly what buyers will allow as addbacks and what they will not. With their help, you can present your practice in the best light and attract the right buyers.
Sellers not utilizing a broker typically send their financials to buyers who then determine the EBITDA for the practice. Think about that, if the seller does not present their version of EBITDA, the buyer is making this determination, and their interest is certainly not to addback everything!! It is the fox guarding the hen house.
“I used to question the value firms like yours could bring to the table. Ackerman Group delieverd big time. I will never go back to the FSBO days. The contributions each of you made to help me secure the value that I did was heroic.”
David Hoe
Veterinary Management Inc.
2. Vet Practice Upside & Highlighting Growth Potential
Practice Upside: We work with you to clearly showcase the growth potential of your practice to buyers. Our team accomplishes this by carefully assessing your practice and keeping tabs on what various buyers prioritize at different times. This way, your practice is marketed with its full potential and can catch the right eyes.
3. TopCo Equity in Your Practice Sale
TopCo Equity: These days, many offers you’ll see include a sizeable pre-tax investment in the buyer’s parent company equity. It can get complicated, but we’re here to dig into the potential of these investments and the timing of their recapitalizations—tasks that aren’t straightforward due to often limited information and access. We’ll clearly explain these opportunities so that you can make informed choices about what’s best for you.
4. Earnouts
Earnouts: When your practice’s performance warrants it, we’re here to help negotiate earnouts. Our team knows exactly when these incentives are a good fit and we’re seasoned in crafting terms that benefit both sides. We aim to set up earnout arrangements that reflect your business goals and reward you for your practice’s success after the sale. Earnouts are an invaluable arrangement in practice sales that supports your continued growth and rewards your hard work.
5. Joint Venture Options
Co-Ownership: Deciding between a joint venture and a complete sale can be challenging. We help you navigate the pros and cons of each option, guiding you toward the right path. If you opt for co-ownership with a buyer, we’ll make sure your interests are safeguarded. We focus on securing your rights when it’s time to sell your share, establishing clear exit pricing, and ensuring you have a say in key decisions.
Case Study:
Dr. Anjanette Cabeza
- Employed a joint venture deal structure
- Exceeded her local broker’s value estimations
- Achieved expansion/renovation plans with her buyer
6. Veterinary Practice Real Estate Considerations
Real Estate: We negotiate major lease terms to maximize your real estate value while helping you decide your plan for the long-term. Whether you’re planning to hold onto your property, sell it and handle the taxes now, roll it into a REIT on a tax-deferred basis, engage in a 1031 exchange, or explore other strategies, we’re here to help.
7. Associate Veterinarian Needs & Opportunities
Associate Doctor Needs and Opportunities: We know the ins and outs of the market for Associate DVMs, and we make sure buyers step up with the right incentives for these key team members. Our aim is to smooth out the transaction by ensuring everyone feels valued and properly rewarded, paving the way for a successful deal.
8. Tax Strategy Before Your Veterinary Practice Sale Closes
Tax Strategy: We work together with you and your tax advisor to figure out the best ways to cut down your federal and state taxes. We want to make sure you get all the tax breaks you can, so you pay the least amount legally possible. With our help, tackling your taxes becomes less complicated and more manageable.
9. Exit Timing
Exit Timing: We integrate your desired exit timing and Topco Equity/JV timing with the natural timeline associated with a specific owner.
Since 2020, we’ve successfully brokered the sale of over 260 hospitals, with a total transaction value exceeding $2 billion. At Ackerman Group, we’ve averaged roughly one sale per week, equipping our team with up-to-date experience and valuable market insights. We have a deep understanding of the buyers, pricing, and terms that will work best for you, helping you secure the sale you desire for your practice and your future. Our knowledge of the corporate market is unmatched, allowing us to tailor and secure deals that maximize your benefits.
Exhaustive List: Questions to Ask Veterinary Brokers
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- 15+ questions to ask when choosing your practice sales broker
- Complete explanations “behind-the-curtain” of brokers
- The current broker climate: what to watch out for
Shift in Vet Practice Sales: From Small Clinics to Corporate Acquisitions
How did we get here? Well, it’s no secret that the veterinary industry has rapidly evolved over the last decade. Before 2017, brokers primarily facilitated the sale of small, one or two-doctor practices to other veterinarians. Now, larger practices are being sold directly to corporate groups, usually with the assistance of specialized brokers. Even bad brokers (and they are out there!) can help you achieve a higher valuation than the DIY approach that we see all too often.
Why Choose Ackerman Group to Help You Sell Your Veterinary Practice?
Ackerman Group stands out by focusing on sales that match your personal and professional goals: structuring a deal tailored to your personal goals, securing your financial future, and keeping things smooth at your practice. We take our role in guiding you through this complex transition seriously, making sure you get both great financial results and a clear understanding of the whole process.
- Largest and most experienced broker in the industry for a reason. Our team and our process has delivered successful outcomes to more practice owners than any other brokers in the industry. Our transaction volume allows us better market information about what buyers will accept and who are the active buyers at a given point in time (this shifts regularly).
- Our expertise in financial analysis means we know how to assess your profits or EBITDA than you could on your own, or allowing the buyer to do the math. Buyers trust our numbers because we manage ~50 sales a year and know what the market accepts for add-backs.
- We’ve got top-notch negotiation skills that lead to personalized and advantageous deals. We know the market inside out and what we can push for in negotiations with different buyers.
- Our experience in structuring sales also means your team can look forward to a smooth transition, giving them peace of mind and confidence in what’s next.
- We also team up with your CPA, financial advisor, and trust/estates attorney to make sure the transaction fits seamlessly with your tax, financial, and estate planning. Since your advisors often need a detailed rundown of the transaction, we’re here to help guide everyone through.
Every practice is unique, and we’re all about setting up a plan that’s tailored just for you and your business, aiming to get you better results than you might on your own. We make sure the sale not only benefits your business but also fits perfectly with your personal financial goals.
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