VetCor Group Holdings Corp. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to recapitalize the Company. Oak Hill Capital Partners led the transaction alongside significant new investment from existing shareholders Harvest Partners, LP, Cressey & Company, LP, 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.
"In adding Oak Hill alongside our established investment partners, we gain not only the strength of another top-tier, highly regarded firm, but a strategic partner who places great value on the culture and reputation that are foundations of our Company's success," stated CEO Dan Adams. "VetCor's future has never been brighter, as we continue to expand our network and our level of collective resources for our hospitals to best serve their patients, clients, and communities."
"We have great admiration for the business that Dan Adams, Peter DeFeo, and the team have built. The Company has become a leading platform within the veterinary services space that is focused on providing exceptional, patient-client-tailored care," said Brian Cherry, a partner at Oak Hill. "We are excited to partner with VetCor, Harvest and Cressey to support the Company's next phase of growth, both organically and through continued strategic acquisitions."
Steve Puccinelli, a partner at Oak Hill, added, "We believe VetCor is well-positioned to continue its long history of consistent growth. We have tremendous respect for VetCor's heritage and its strong leadership team. This transaction is consistent with Oak Hill's longstanding theme-based investment philosophy and systematic approach to value creation, and it builds upon our thirty year history of investing behind leading businesses and management teams."
Jefferies LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to VetCor. Jefferies LLC and Golub Capital have underwritten and will arrange first and second lien financing in connection with the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to Oak Hill. White & Case LLP is serving as legal counsel to Harvest Partners. Ropes & Gray LLP is serving as legal counsel to Cressey.
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 http://www.cresseyco.com.
