CASE STUDY:

Kids Dental Kare

  • One of California’s largest pediatric dental providers
  • 30+ years of clinical experience serving underserved Medicaid populations
  • Synergy helped prepare KDK for the sale process by suggesting additional management infrastructure resources
  • Western Dental emerged as the strongest buyer, given their desire to expand their pediatric platform to enhance orthodontic growth
  • Seller achieved valuation of double initial expectations

Lead Bankers:  Jim Emslie,  Bob Maggiacomo,  Don Kim  

“This was my first time dealing in the M&A world and I was very skeptical from early on. The Synergy Advisors team was selected from a few IB’s that I interviewed based on the best fit for my organization, so I entrusted them with my baby (organization). They did an excellent job and I would highly recommend them to any middle market healthcare company trying to find their exit strategy.  We developed what I hope are some lasting personal relations with the Synergy team and they worked as hard as my team did. They all had different roles to play in the process and they executed as they said they would and gave me the confidence to stay the course. Their experience in healthcare M&A transactions allowed me to walk away wealthier than I could have ever imagined.  I’m more than happy with their results.”

Dr. Jerry Lanier, Founder & CEO, Kids Dental Kare

Client Profile

KDK provides pediatric dental services in 14 clinics in California.  The Company was founded by Dr. Jerry Lanier in 1994 and currently treats over 75,000 children annually.  The vast majority of KDK patients are covered by Denti-Cal.

Situation Overview

After spending 30+ years practicing pediatric dentistry for underserved populations and growing his business into one of the largest most respected pediatric dental practices in the Western U.S.,  Dr. Lanier was ready to explore a sale.

Soon upon engagement, Synergy identified financial management infrastructure needs and introduced a prospective interim CFO candidate to help with the process.  In addition, Synergy introduced additional Denti-Cal consulting resources to help bidders understand the program. A targeted strategic & financial buyer list of 60+ targets was developed by Synergy.  A handful of bidders made it to the final round after a very thorough process.

The Outcome

Western Dental aggressively emerged as the strongest and most suitable buyer.  Synergy worked with Western Dental and other bidders in diligence and negotiations to enhance the transaction value.  Ultimately, Synergy was able exceed Dr. Lanier’s monetization objectives at valuations much higher than originally expected.