(New York, NY) – Cortec Group (“Cortec”), a New York-based private equity firm which invests in middle-market consumer, healthcare, distribution, and specialty products and services businesses, is pleased to announce that its affiliate, Cortec Group Fund V, L.P. (“Cortec Fund V”), has sold CVP Holdco, Inc. d/b/a Community Veterinary Partners (“CVP” or the “Company”) to affiliates of OMERS Private Equity (“OMERS”), the private equity investment arm of one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Philadelphia, PA, CVP manages a network of 64 veterinary hospitals that are primarily focused on treating companion animals and located throughout Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Indiana, Maryland, and Florida. Each hospital offers a range of preventative and wellness services and some hospitals also provide services for specific animal types and/or provide specialized services (e.g., oncology, internal medicine, cardiology, etc.). Additional information on CVP is available at www.cvpco.com.
Cortec acquired CVP in October 2015. Since that time, CVP has significantly diversified its geographic reach and expanded its service offerings, increasing the hospital count from 17 to 64 and driving organic same-store sales growth through a number of targeted initiatives. Jeff Lipsitz, a Managing Partner at Cortec, stated, “During our ownership, we invested to expand the Company’s leadership team, develop corporate infrastructure and systems, built an in-house business development and integration team, and implement digital marketing initiatives which enabled management to significantly grow the business.” Jeff Shannon, a Partner at Cortec, added, “We have enjoyed our partnership with CVP’s management and veterinarians, and share the Company’s enthusiasm for its continued growth with OMERS.”
Kevin Ruffe, CEO of CVP, added, “Cortec has been an excellent partner for us over the last four years. Their understanding of our business and insights into growing a multi-site operator were invaluable as we have expanded our footprint and created a strong platform for future growth.”
The Cortec team included Jeff Lipsitz, Jeff Shannon, Ajay Chokshi, Will Keesler, Nick Cooper, Jacob Grossetti, and Catherine Horelick. CVP was advised in the transaction by Piper Jaffray & Co., with Paul Hastings LLP and Kleinbard LLC serving as legal counsel.
About Cortec Group
Founded in 1984, Cortec invests in market-leading, middle-market specialty consumer, distribution, healthcare and specialty services and products businesses in partnership with owners and management teams who want to work with Cortec to drive growth and improve business fundamentals. More information about Cortec can be found at www.cortecgroup.com.
