From Fraud and Failure to Double-Digit Exit Multiples, Dykema Reminds Us All How Far the DSO Economy Has Come in Recent Decades.

Those who braved the summer heat of New Orleans to attend Dykema’s 4^th Annual Definitive Conference for DSOs earlier this month left well informed about our ever-changing DSO economy. 

Brian A. Colao (Director of Dykema’s DSO Industry Group, and his industry leading team hosted over 400 attendees to a 2-day information-packed survey of the DSO market.  This conference had a markedly different feel than most that we have attended this year – it had both a reflective perspective from Colao reminding the audience how the DSO economy has evolved in recent decades as well as the feel of a Survey Class of the current market with profiles of 2 of the largest names in the space: Craig Abramowitz (co-CEO of Dental Care Alliance) and Dr. Sulman Ahmed (Founder and CEO of Deca Dental). 

 

Disruption and innovation was the underlying theme of this year’s 2017 Mastery Summit on Group Practice in Phoenix, AZ.

TUSK was invited to the 2017 ADSO Summit  to share the stage with Dr. Marc Cooper of the Mastery Group to present to emerging group practices and DSOs. I focused on the Strategies + Tactics to grow your group / DSO, while Dr. Cooper discussed the leadership qualities necessary to build a group. We had the pleasure of presenting to over 200 industry professionals over the course of 4 hours – it was a remarkable morning.

Last week, my Partner, Diwakar Sinha, and I spent most of the week at the American Academy of Dental Group Practices (AADGP) Expo ’17 in Las Vegas, NV.  The trip was full of reconnecting with old friends and clients and making new connections as well.  There was plenty of excitement this year as it was the 45^th Annual Session, and Henry Schein sponsored an additional day of presentations and study before the AADGP on Wednesday.

Your dental practice isn’t worth 60-85% of collections or 6-12x earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).  It’s worth what someone is willing to pay for it. 

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the Group Evolution Seminar in Austin, TX, hosted by my dear friend, Heidi Arndt, Founder of Enhanced Hygiene.  Heidi and her team pulled together some of the brightest minds in the Dental Service Organization (DSO) and Group Practice space to share their insights on the industry.

 Have you ever received an unsolicited call from someone offering to buy your practice? It could have been a friend in the community, a fellow dentist, or a new Dental Service Organization (DSO) that has come to town. What about a piece of direct mail from a company offering 100% of last year’s revenue for your practice? If you own a multi-practice group or DSO, it is likely that you have been contacted by a Private Equity Group or larger DSO looking to buy you out.