A census of corporate-owned veterinary practices shows dozens of companies operating at least 7,800 clinics across North America, a sign of “the accelerating pace of veterinary consolidation,” according to Veterinary Integration Solutions.
The Canada-based data and analytics company posted a report, “Veterinary Consolidators: North American Market Analysis,” at bit.ly/3xaXSdo. The breakdown includes:
- The source of financing.
- The number of hospitals owned.
- Each company’s geographical area of operations.
- The features the consolidator looks for in its practices.
- The type of partnership agreement with practice owners.
- The business support offered to practices.
Pinpointing the number of corporate practices is next to impossible because of the constant shuffling and a few companies not revealing their holdings.
“Due to the accelerating pace of veterinary consolidation today (more than 60 veterinary consolidators known so far), it is hard to estimate the real number of company-owned vet practices,” the report stated. “Back in 2017, it was over 10% (around 3,500 of 32,000) … and the real numbers change nearly every month.”
Veterinary Integration Solutions’ CEO, Ivan “Zak” Zakharenkov, DVM, concluded that “Veterinary practice consolidation is progressing.”
“In the upcoming years, we are likely to see more private equity firms buying practices which will be eventually swallowed up by even bigger corporations,” he wrote. “This can play into the hands of practice owners planning retirement.”
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