PE Deals

Podiatry platform Extremity Healthcare seeks PE backing

-
private equity, healthcare, podiatry, Extremity Healthcare
Photo courtesy of Staras/iStock/Getty Images
  • Potential transaction would mark first sponsor platform in podiatry specialty
  • Extremity led by CEO and founder David Helfman
  • Company marketed off of ~$8 mln in adjusted Ebitda

Extremity Healthcare, the largest podiatry-centric platform in the country, is in the midst of a sponsor-driven sales process, according to four sources.

Lincoln International is conducting the auction for the Atlanta foot-and-ankle medicine group, the sources said.

Management meetings wrapped up around the end of January and the latest round of bids were submitted about a week or so ago, one of the sources said.

Extremity was marketed off adjusted pro forma Ebitda of about $8 million, the sources said. The sellers hope to fetch a 10x multiple of Ebitda or higher, two of the sources said.

Should the process for Southeast-U.S.-focused Extremity produce a deal, it would represent private equity’s first bet in the podiatry specialty.

Healthcare investors have been interested in podiatry for some time, but as one source put it, it’s a hard space to invest in. That’s largely because podiatry remains highly fragmented, with the next largest practice in the $25 million to $30 million range from a revenue standpoint, the source estimated.

While Extremity’s scale is appealing, two of the sources cautioned that the company has faced integration issues, having fueled much of its expansion through M&A. Extremity has acquired more than 20 practices, its website says.

In February Extremity bolstered its services in Tennessee by acquiring My Foot Doctor. In December it scooped up Dalton Foot & Ankle Clinic & Surgery Center and North Georgia Foot & Ankle Specialists.

The company through Village Podiatry Centers has a network of more than 45 doctors throughout its 35 foot-and-ankle surgical practices in the metro-Atlanta area, middle Georgia and Tennessee.

The company manages and owns surgery centers and performs surgeries at multiple Georgia hospitals. The Village Podiatry umbrella also encompasses a specialty retail pharmacy, pathology lab, anesthesiology group, cardiovascular division and other affiliated services.

Extremity offers affiliated practices services including, among others, billing and collections, insurance-carrier negotiation, compliance and operational planning.

The company is led by Founder and CEO David Helfman.

Representatives of Extremity and Lincoln didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

Action Item: Learn more about Extremity here: https://www.extremityhc.com/

Photo courtesy of Staras/iStock/Getty Images