Morgan Stanley Global PE invests in Pathway Partners Vet Holding

Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity invested in Austin, Texas-based Pathway Partners Vet Holding LLC, which owns and operates veterinary hospitals. Along with the investment, Pathway Partners Vet Holding acquired multiple clinics through partnerships with veterinary practices and chains in the northeast, the mid-Atlantic region and southern California.

Press Release

Pathway Partners Vet Holding LLC (“Pathway” or the “Company”) announced today that it has received an investment from funds managed by Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity (collectively, “MSPE”). Founded by Dr. Jasen Trautwein and led by CEO Shawn McVey, Pathway is a leading veterinary hospital owner and operator.

“We are excited and fortunate to have met Pathway. MSPE has a history of investing in founder-owned companies in attractive industries. Dr. Trautwein, Shawn and Pathway’s talented leadership team have positioned the Company as an industry leader with a strong culture and dedication to patient care.”

Pathway is partnering with MSPE to prepare for rapid expansion. Simultaneous with the MSPE transaction, the Company acquired multiple additional clinics through partnerships with leading veterinary practices and chains in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic region and Southern California. The transaction has substantially increased the size and geographic footprint of the Company, with 35 clinics in 9 states across the country.

Pathway Partners is an Austin, Texas based operator of veterinary practices and a veterinary management company that provides business support for its portfolio of clinics. Pathway has differentiated itself through its stated mission of being an alternative to a “corporate” exit strategy, by focusing on the unique needs of each practice and truly partnering with the local team to implement their vision and work with their values.

Founded in 2003, Pathway Partners has grown from a single practice in Austin to a national platform. Pathway believes that veterinary practices can be successfully operated by a team of values-driven professionals that want the benefits of management support without losing the heart and passion of the owner and community that built the practice. Pathway looks for practices and doctors seeking opportunities to grow and increase the value of their clinics.

“Practices today are larger, more expensive and take management expertise to operate well. Further, many younger veterinarians are saddled with large debt, do not want to own practices and seek work life balance. Pathway Partners is the solution to this problem,” says CEO Shawn McVey. “We wanted to build a company that would provide all the business support necessary for the veterinarians to focus on the parts of their job that they trained for: medicine and patient care. We want to relieve the veterinary professional of the burden of management and create systems for managers and veterinarians to focus on developing their business and building bonds with team members and the community they serve. ”

Aaron Sack, co-head of MSPE, said, “We are excited and fortunate to have met Pathway. MSPE has a history of investing in founder-owned companies in attractive industries. Dr. Trautwein, Shawn and Pathway’s talented leadership team have positioned the Company as an industry leader with a strong culture and dedication to patient care.”

About Pathway

Pathway Partners is an Austin, Texas based operator of veterinary practices and a veterinary management company that provides business support for its portfolio of clinics. The Company is comprised of 35 clinics in 9 states.