Abry Partners and The Riverside Company are selling North American Dental Group (NADG), concluding a four-year investment in the dental service organization (DSO). NADG operates in the United States, and its network includes more than 200 dental practices in 11 states and 23 regional markets. The buyer is Jacobs Holding AG, a global professional investment group that supports the Jacobs Foundation, one of the world’s leading charitable foundations. No financial terms were disclosed.
Jacobs Holding is no stranger to the dental market. The company already owns Colosseum Dental Group, a dental care provider, and the addition of NADG will create the first transatlantic dental group. NADG and Colosseum will have combined annual revenues of more than $900 million and more than 450 practices.
It’s rare to find an entity other than a private equity firm acquiring or backing a DSO, which often serve as foundations for national dental group platforms, such as the CORDENTAL Group, a portfolio company of New MainStream Capital. According to our Deal Search Online database, COREDENTAL has added 12 dental groups since New MainStream acquired it in 2017. The most recent deal was announced on August 19, when CORDENTAL bought a private dental practice, giving it a market of nine states.
Even with this exit, Abry Partners is still in the DSO market. Last March the firm acquired Dr. Dental Management, a leading DSO in New England with 44 branded locations across four states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey). It has 100 active dentists treating more than 250,000 patients a year. Abry will use Dr. Dental to continue growing in the dental market by opening new locations and will target strategic acquisitions of dental practices and groups throughout the Northeast.
