Scoop Founder-led Dentive seeks PE partner

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Scoop Founder-led Dentive seeks PE partner

, author of Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/AxiosExit Content Preview A sale process is underway for founder-led dental support organization Dentive, multiple sources tell Axios. Why it matters: Dentive plays in markets — including its Provo, Utah headquarters, or the so-called Silicon Slopes — that have seen massive post-COVID growth as people swap pricy cities for a more affordable life. That translates to greater opportunity for many sectors in those underpenetrated markets, including dental care. What's happening: Dentive's auction process is private equity-focused, sources say. Houlihan Lokey is providing financial advice to Dentive, with the company marketing roughly $40 million of EBITDA, sources say. Led by founder Tom Clark, Dentive provides tech-enabled, non-clinical support to affiliated specialty and general dentist partners. How it works: Dentive is said to have a heavy doctor ownership model — and that may align with the evolution of PE-backed DSOs trying to balance physician autonomy and growth.As the industry (and PE participation) has evolved, there's also a movement to shared services on a bespoke basis, versus the take-it-all model, one source notes. Between the lines: Geography matters. Not every DSO is created equal from an organic growth perspective.Factors that impact expansion include a concentration in rural versus suburban markets if players have specialty dentistry offerings, how they manage staff, etc. Zoom in: The four-year-old Dentive is situated in some flourishing markets. Provo replaced San Francisco in 2021 as the No. 1 big metropolitan area with the best regional economy, per Milken Institute's annual ranking, . And, another one of its major markets — Bend, Oregon — ranked 13th in population growth among all U.S. metro areas from mid-2020 to mid-2021. Dentive also has a presence in Washington. State of play: BlackRock Long Term Private Capital last week agreed to buy a majority stake in Paradigm Oral Health from InTandem Capital Partners, valuing the oral surgery company north of $900 million, . And, ICYMI: Axios that BC Partners formally kicked off its sale process for Zest Dental Solutions, the dominant player in overdenture attachments used to implant a full set of teeth. The big picture: While dentistry is a well-trod sector for private equity, the industry, and the needs of dentists are constantly evolving.

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