How Veterinary Practices Are Valued
The veterinary M&A market has been transformed by corporate consolidation. Mars Veterinary Health (Banfield, BluePearl, VCA), National Veterinary Associates (NVA), and dozens of PE-backed platforms have acquired thousands of veterinary practices over the past decade. This has created a two-tier market: private buyer valuations and corporate buyer valuations.
Private Buyer Valuation (Vet to Vet)
When one veterinarian buys another's practice, the standard metric is 55-85% of annual revenue, or equivalently 2.3-2.9x SDE. A practice with $1.8M in revenue would sell for $990,000 to $1,530,000 to a private buyer.
Corporate/PE Buyer Valuation
Corporate consolidators value practices on EBITDA, typically paying 8-15x EBITDA. A practice with $1.8M revenue and $360K EBITDA could sell for $2.9M to $5.4M to a corporate buyer — significantly more than the private buyer range. However, corporate deals typically require the selling vet to stay on as an employee for 3-5 years.
Key Value Drivers
Revenue per DVM is the metric corporate buyers watch most closely. Practices generating $700K+ per veterinarian are highly attractive. This indicates efficient scheduling, good case acceptance, and appropriate pricing.
Emergency and specialty services command premium valuations. Practices offering emergency/after-hours care or specialty services (surgery, dermatology, oncology) are worth 20-40% more than general practice-only clinics.
Associate veterinarian retention is critical. Practices with only the owner-DVM face the same dependency problem as dental and medical practices. Having 2+ associate veterinarians who are likely to stay post-sale dramatically increases value.