On April 19, for the second time in 2022, Total Vision, backed by New York-based Bregal Partners, entered the M&A market with its acquisition of Santa Cruz Optometric Center. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. For over 60 years, Santa Cruz Optometric Center has provided quality eye-care to patients in its Santa Cruz and Aptos offices.
Total Vision is one of the largest networks of vision providers in California and is a recognized leader in the optometry industry. Its offices employ more than 500 staff members, including more than 100 doctors who provide care to more than 100,000 patients each year. By acquiring Santa Cruz Optometric Center, Total Vision is strengthening its California presence, bringing its presence to nearly 50 offices in the state.
Within the last few months, Total Vision additionally acquired Eyetopia Optometry in March 2022, Dr. Goldstone Optometry and Vision Center in September 2021 and Los Angeles EyeCare Optometry Group and Riverside Optometry in November 2021. None of the prices were publicly announced.
This deal is the 160th publicly announced Physician Medical Group (PMG) transaction of 2022, six of those deals are in the optometry subsector. Like other PMG subsectors that are experiencing an uptick in deal activity, optometry is busy as six of the 160 deals are in the optometry subsector. This is a considerable amount when considering in all of 2021 there were only 15 optometry acquisitions.
Other notable optometry transactions of the year include VSP Global acquiring four optometry practices (two in Texas and two in Oregon) in February as well as Shopko Optical purchasing Third Street Optical in March. More information about those deals can be found here.
