dental care

Pine Tree Equity, through its third investment fund, has made an investment in Smile Design Dentistry. Pine Tree’s minority investment was made in partnership with the founders of Smile Design who remain as majority owners and will continue to operate the business.

Smile Design Dentistry provides dental care services across 14 Smile Design branded offices in Florida. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Tampa (www.thesmiledesign.com).

According to Pine Tree the dental care market is projected to grow at 5.5% annually through 2020. Growth in this sector is been driven by several factors which include an aging population and heightened demand for dental hygiene. The dental market is resilient as the industry has not experienced a negative growth year in the past nearly 50 years. Further, private dental practices represented one of the nation’s most profitable industries during the economic downturn.

The investment in Smile Design marks Pine Tree Equity’s 2nd investment in the healthcare services industry and 29th investment since Pine Tree Equity’s inception in 2007.

Pine Tree Equity invests in companies with revenues of $10 million to $50 million and EBITDAs of $2 million to $6 million. Sectors of interest include business, consumer and financial services; consumer products; franchisors and franchisees; and niche manufacturing.  The firm has $200 million of committed equity capital and is based in Miami (www.pinetreeequity.com).

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-20-15

Sterling Partners has made an investment in Kids Care Dental Group, a multi-unit pediatric dental care practice that serves toddlers, children and teens.

Kids Care Dental Group is a six office provider of pediatric dental care to toddlers, children and teens. Services include dentistry, orthodontics and oral surgery. The company has 170 employees and is based in Sacramento (www.kidscaredentalgroup.com).

Dr. Aaron Reeves, Kids Care founder and chairman, will remain as an investor and continue as a board member. “We chose Sterling Partners due to their track record for growing healthcare companies that focus on quality patient experiences,” said Dr. Reeves, who founded the practice in 2002. “Sterling shares our long-term vision for expansion, attracting top talent, forming new relationships with families and changing the way kids and their parents think about going to the dentist.”

Sterling Partners invests growth capital in industries with positive, long-term trends and provides ongoing support to management through a dedicated team of industry veterans, operators, strategy experts and human capital professionals. Sectors of interest include education, healthcare and business services. The firm was founded in 1983 and has offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami (www.sterlingpartners.com).

“As a firm that is drawn to purpose-driven businesses, we were attracted to Dr. Reeves’ steadfast devotion to providing a differentiated dental model for kids,” said Dan Hosler, a Sterling Partners principal. “We will leverage our experience operating multi-unit businesses to help the company accelerate its growth trajectory so that its dental health professionals can focus on what they do best: providing a positive patient experience that builds lifelong oral hygiene habits.”

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-21-13