News

Pouschine Cook Capital Management LLC said Aug. 30 that it acquired Southern Dental Alliance. Financial terms weren’t announced. Co-investors include Pantheon Ventures, Stockwell Capital, QS Capital Strategies LP and an affiliate of Pouschine Cook. Southern Dental, of Kennesaw, Georgia, is a dental services organization that provides business and non-clinical support services to dental practices specializing in pediatric dentistry, family dentistry, orthodontics and oral surgery.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – August 30, 2017) – Pouschine Cook Capital Management, LLC, a healthcare services and B2B products and services-focused private equity investment firm (“Pouschine Cook”), announced that, on August 4th, it acquired Southern Dental Alliance (“SDA”, or the “Company”) in partnership with CEO Mark Lakis, members of senior management, associated dentists and certain institutional equity co-investors. SDA, a dental services organization, provides business and non-clinical support services to dental practices specializing in pediatric dentistry, family dentistry, orthodontics and oral surgery, with 32 practices located in Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina, under eight distinct regional brands.
Mark Lakis, SDA’s CEO, commented that, “We are extremely excited to be partnering with Pouschine Cook and their co-investors as we move into the next phase of the Company’s growth. The team at Pouschine Cook understands and supports Southern Dental Alliance’s strategy and core beliefs, including our Founder Model, and they have a strong track record of helping their portfolio companies succeed.”
Everett Cook, Pouschine Cook’s co-founder and SDA Chairman, noted that “Southern Dental Alliance fits squarely within Pouschine Cook’s investment thesis as an established healthcare services company with a dominant position in each of its markets. Moreover, the Company is supported by a strong, proven management team with a demonstrated ability to create significant shareholder value through organic growth as well as through a steady pace of acquiring and integrating new practices.”
Robert Jenkins, Managing Director at Pouschine Cook and SDA Vice Chairman, added that “the business venture capitalizes on SDA’s proven acquisition model, the dental industry expertise of Mark Lakis and his management team and the capital and physician practice management know-how at Pouschine Cook and its co-investors. With a strong equity capital base and modest leverage, SDA will continue on its impressive growth trajectory, both organically and through additional add-on acquisitions, in its existing markets and other states in the Southeast.”
The institutional co-investors in the transaction were Pantheon Ventures, Stockwell Capital, QS Capital Strategies, L.P. and an affiliate of Pouschine Cook. The buyer group’s legal advisor was McDermott Will & Emery LLP and the senior loan facility was led by Deerpath Capital Management, LP, and included Oxford Finance LLC and QS Capital Strategies, L.P. Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC was the exclusive financial advisor to the Company.
About Pouschine Cook Capital Management, LLC
Pouschine Cook is a New York City-based private equity firm that invests in proven, private middle market companies, with a focus on healthcare services and business products and services. The Firm was founded in 1999 by John Pouschine and Everett Cook with a focus on U.S.-based companies that have a leading position in their niche or industry, significant growth opportunities and are poised to benefit from Pouschine Cook’s enhancement Toolkit and other initiatives. Pouschine Cook specializes in providing direct co-investment opportunities for institutional investors and family offices alongside its own capital. For additional information on Pouschine Cook, please visit www.pouschinecook.com.
About Southern Dental Alliance
Based in Kennesaw, GA, Southern Dental Alliance is a dental services organization that provides business support services to affiliated dental practices in micropolitan areas across the Southeastern United States. Founded upon strong guiding principles, SDA promotes a dentist-centric approach that enable dentists and their teams to concentrate on what they do best — providing the highest level of quality clinical care to their patients. SDA prides itself on permitting its affiliated clinics to retain the strong local identities and cultures that enabled their success prior to associating with SDA. For additional information on the Company, please visit www.southerndentalalliance.com.