Business acquisition opportunity
Multi-site general and specialty dental group, the Southeast
Anonymised as Project Cypress
Anonymised mandate, codename PROJECT CYPRESS
Multi-site general and specialty dental group, the Southeast
General and specialty dental practices under one management platform
Why this business is called Project Cypress
Project Cypress is a working codename, chosen at random by DealFlowAgent (DFA) and standard practice in mergers and acquisitions. It exists so the business can be discussed with acquirers, funders and advisers without naming the company or alerting its staff, customers and competitors. The codename is not connected to the company, its brand or its trading name, and searching for it online will return nothing about this business. Everything you need in order to judge fit is on this page in banded form. The company is named to one verified acquirer only, after the owner approves that specific introduction in writing.
A doctor-founded dental group operating clustered general practices with in-house specialty capability across the Southeast. Revenue is weighted to fee-for-service and membership plan rather than to low-reimbursement insurance, specialty referrals are captured internally, and the management team is already centralized. Not on the market, and no banker engaged.
Verified acquirers only. A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis. Identity is disclosed at the third gate, with the owner's written approval.
Indicative value range
$20M to $42M
Derived from comparable UK transactions in this sector over the last 24 months. This is a market reference, not the owner's number. The reserve is set separately and disclosed under non-disclosure agreement.
- Sector
- Multi-site dental
- Region
- Southeast United States
- Ownership
- Doctor-founded
- Outside capital
- None
- Structure sought
- 60% to 100%
- Adviser status
- Unrepresented
$16-21M
Revenue
18-23%
EBITDA margin
7 to 11
Locations
45-70
Operatories
Majority
Fee-for-service share
Several thousand
Membership plan members
Above 5 years average
Associate tenure
18+ yrs
Trading history
Why every figure is a band
Companies on this register are real businesses with staff, customers and suppliers who do not know their owner is listening to the market. Exact figures are a fingerprint: a precise turnover, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to a single company. These bands are wide enough to protect identity and wide enough that a growing business does not fall out of its own mandate. Every band is verified against filed accounts and management information held by DealFlowAgent (DFA). Precise figures are released under a non-disclosure agreement.
01 Opportunity at a glance
What the business actually does
The group runs clustered general practices with in-house oral surgery, endodontics and orthodontics, so specialty production stays inside the group instead of leaving as a referral. Scheduling, billing, credentialing, marketing and procurement are already centralized, and the hygiene recall system is the engine of new production.
Revenue is recall-driven rather than contracted, supported by an in-house membership plan with several thousand active members and a stable hygiene schedule.
- Payor mix
- Majority fee-for-service and membership plan
- Specialty capture
- Oral surgery, endodontics and orthodontics in house
- Locations
- 7 to 11, clustered within two metro areas
- Hygiene recall rate
- Above sector benchmark, disclosed under NDA
- Associate retention
- Average tenure above five years
- Central function
- Billing, credentialing, marketing and procurement centralized
- Real estate
- Leased, terms disclosed under NDA
- Outstanding litigation
- None disclosed
02 Why now
Sector timing
Dental service organizations continue to pay a premium for fee-for-service weighted groups with in-house specialty and a functioning central office, because those groups can be integrated without rebuilding them first. Groups of this size and payor mix are typically acquired directly rather than run through a process.
Nothing distressed. The founder has set a reserve so only acquirers prepared to meet it are put in front of them.
What has changed for this owner
Nothing distressed. The founder still practices two days a week and has built the management layer so the group runs without them. The decision was to test the market privately at a figure set in advance, without unsettling associates.
03 Financial profile
Three years, published as bands
Three years apart, published as bands, reconciled to reviewed financial statements and the practice management system. De novo and acquired locations are separated from same-store growth.
| Measure | Three years ago | Most recent full year |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $11-15M | $16-21M |
| Same-store growth | Presented separately from added locations | |
| EBITDA margin | 15-20% | 18-23% |
| Fee-for-service share | Majority | Majority and rising |
| Provider compensation | Normalized to market rates, quantified | |
| Owner compensation adjustment | Identified and quantified | |
Where the earnings quality sits
- Provider compensation is normalized to market so the margin does not overstate.
- Same-store growth is separated from growth by location count.
- Specialty production is captured in house rather than referred out.
- The central office cost is already in the numbers.
04 The owner's position
Stated in advance, in writing
| Question | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Is the business for sale? | No |
| Would they transact at the right figure? | Yes, confirmed in writing |
| Reserve figure | Set, disclosed under NDA |
| Preferred structure | 60% to 100% of equity |
| Rollover appetite | Open to a meaningful rollover |
| Post-completion involvement | 12 to 36 months, clinical only |
| Management team | Central team and associates expected to remain |
| Represented elsewhere? | No adviser, no other process |
What a reserve figure is
A reserve, as at auction. Before a mandate goes live, the owner completes a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and commits, in writing, to the figure at which they will engage seriously. It is private and it is never published. Nothing below it is ever put in front of them, so no acquirer is invited into a conversation that was never going to happen, and the owner is never asked to decline a low offer.
The reserve is disclosed to verified acquirers at non-disclosure agreement stage. It is a threshold for engagement. It is not an asking price and it is not a cap.
I still see patients two days a week because I want to, not because the group needs me to. That is what makes this worth buying.
05 Transaction process
The four gates
01
Acquirer verification.
Funding position, sector experience, prior completions and decision-making authority are confirmed by DealFlowAgent (DFA) before any company information is released. Unfunded parties and brokers acting without a named principal do not proceed.
No company information released
02
Non-disclosure agreement and financial pack.
A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure, the contract base analysis and the management structure. The company is still not named.
Identity withheld
03
Owner approval and introduction.
We put the acquirer to the owner with a written profile covering their intent, their integration approach and their treatment of teams in previous acquisitions. The owner decides. Only on their written approval is the company named and a meeting arranged.
Owner's written approval required
04
Indicative offer.
Acquirers who meet the reserve are invited to submit an indicative offer. Where more than one qualifies, we run a structured process from that point.
Reserve must be met
06 Which acquirers this suits
A strong fit, and not a fit
A strong fit
- Dental service organizations seeking a Southeast platform
- Private equity platforms building a fee-for-service weighted group
- Healthcare consolidators with an existing dental asset
- Acquirers who can support in-house specialty capability
Not a fit
- Parties without committed capital at the indicative range
- Buyers whose model depends on raising provider production targets
- Structures weighted heavily to earnout tied to associate retention
- Acquirers intending to consolidate locations within the cluster
07 About the Off-Market Register
What this register is
How the register works, and where to start
The Off-Market Register carries companies that are not for sale, at prices their owners have already set. Each owner has completed a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and committed in writing to the figure at which they will engage.
Every acquirer is verified before they see anything, every document released is watermarked to the recipient, and every access is logged. Before a mandate goes live it is tested three ways for de-anonymisation, and all three tests must fail to identify the company.
If you own a business in this sector, start with the free valuation, read the sector valuation guides or speak to us confidentially. If you acquire businesses, request acquirer access.
08 Questions
Answered in full
If the owner is not selling, is this a waste of my time?
The owner has committed a reserve figure in writing and has agreed in advance to meet acquirers who clear it. You are seeing a business before any process exists, without a competitive auction and without six other parties at the table. What you are not getting is a motivated seller, and you should price accordingly.
Why are the figures banded?
Because precise figures identify the company. Exact revenue, a state, a service line and a headcount will narrow most sectors to one business. Exact figures are released at non-disclosure agreement stage.
Will I be told the reserve before I commit time?
Yes. The reserve is disclosed at non-disclosure agreement stage, before any meeting and before any diligence.
What financial information sits behind the bands?
Reviewed or audited financial statements where they exist, otherwise tax returns and management accounts, together with the contract or customer schedule. The quality of what is available is stated in the pack rather than implied.
Can I approach the company directly if I work out who it is?
Acquirers who circumvent the register are removed permanently and the owner is informed.
Who pays DealFlowAgent (DFA)?
The owner, on completion only. There is no charge to acquirers at any stage, and no fee is payable by anyone if a transaction does not complete.
Own a business like this one?
Every mandate on this register began with a ninety-second valuation and a conversation. No retainer, no exclusivity, and your company is never named until you approve a specific introduction in writing.
Request access to Project Cypress
Verification takes under a working day. On approval you receive the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis under a non-disclosure agreement. The company is named only with the owner's written approval.
DealFlowAgent (DFA)
General and specialty dental practices under one management platform
Project Cypress is a confidential mandate on the DealFlowAgent (DFA) Off-Market Register. All figures are banded and verified against filed accounts and management information. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. DealFlowAgent is a trading name of BTB Holdings Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
