MidOcean takes majority stake in New England dental-services organization

MidOcean Partners acquired a majority stake in newly created dental-services organization Affinity Dental Management Holdings.

The deal is being done in partnership with management of the New England-focused group, as well as certain founders of affiliated practices.

Craig Saltzman, founder of Western Mass Endodontics, a provider of specialty and general dentistry services across the Northeast, will lead Affinity as CEO. Saltzman will own a significant minority investment in the new entity.

The deal is the result of proprietary discussions between the parties outside any formal auction or process, a source familiar with the matter said. No outside financial advisers were retained.

Affinity will provide practice-management and administrative-support services to close to 20 dental offices across western Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont. The company will concentrate on specialty dentistry services, in addition to general dentistry services, and intends to expand in the Northeast through M&A and organic growth, the source said.

New York PE firm MidOcean partnered with management affiliate Marc Aronstein to source and execute diligence on the transaction. Aronstein, a longtime healthcare private equity investor, will join the Affinity board alongside MidOcean Managing Director Elias Dokas.

For MidOcean, the investment comes on the heels of its sale of Agilex Fragrances to Firmenich. Terms of the June 14 deal weren’t disclosed, but MidOcean commanded 5.6x its initial investment on the sale, a source familiar with the matter told Buyouts at the time.

In other recent exits, MidOcean alongside minority investor Wasserstein & Co sold Penton to Informa plc last fall for $1.56 billion. MidOcean was set to receive a 3.5x return in connection with the sale of the B2B media company, Buyouts reported.

Affinity is consistent with MidOcean’s investment strategy, as the firm traditionally backs founder-led companies encompassing a consumer and business services element.

The Affinity investment came through MidOcean’s fourth fund.

Action Item: Touch base with MidOcean’s Elias Dokas at edokas@midoceanpartners.com

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