Sell-Side M&A Advisory · Veterinary Practices
Anyone Can Sell a Veterinary Practice. Doing It Well Is Rare.
You’ll only do this once. Years of hard work culminating in one transaction.
The buyers across the table do this every day.
Ackerman Group exists to ensure your once-in-a-lifetime transaction delivers a once-in-a-lifetime outcome.
I thought I’d done my homework. Twenty minutes into the first call I realized I hadn’t even scratched the surface.
The Best First Step
One Hour. A Complete Understanding.
A consultation with Ackerman isn’t a sales call. It’s a direct conversation designed to give you clarity — on your practice, your options, and your timing.
Many owners finish this call with a clearer picture of the sale process than owners who’ve already been through it.
You’ll understand exactly how your information is protected — what we share, what we don’t, and what safeguards ensure your staff, your clients, and your community never know you had this conversation unless you decide they should.
Most owners have never been through this process. We’ll walk you through what it involves — the timeline, the steps, the decisions you’ll face — whether you work with us or not.
Not a formula. Not a back-of-napkin multiple. A grounded assessment based on what buyers are actually paying for practices like yours — drawn from 168 offers we reviewed in 2025 alone.
Selling too early or too late are both mistakes. We’ll help you understand how your professional plans fit with current market conditions — and give you an honest answer on whether now is the right moment.
Ready to get clarity? One conversation changes everything.
Learn How to Get It RightLeading Experts. Full-Time Advisors.
In Your Corner. No One Else’s.
Every practice is different. Every owner is unique. From the moment your first call is scheduled, you’ll be matched with the advisor whose experience fits your situation — practice size, geography, timeline, and transaction complexity all factor in. No hand-offs. No switching. Just one advisor, start to finish.
Rich oversees every transaction from first conversation through close. He has managed more veterinary practice sales than any advisor in North America and has reviewed hundreds of offers from every major corporate buyer group.
A veterinarian himself, Roger brings clinical credibility to every seller conversation. He specializes in helping owners understand their options before they’ve decided anything — no pressure, no pitch.
Win leads Ackerman’s go-to-market strategy and client experience, ensuring every seller has the context and support they need at every stage — from first conversation through close.
Michael leads Ackerman’s Canadian practice with deep knowledge of the veterinary M&A market across all provinces. He works exclusively with Canadian practice owners navigating the sale process.
Ryan works directly with practice owners in the early and middle stages of the ownership timeline — helping them understand their options, assess their readiness, and prepare for the right moment.
Ryan brings a relationship-first approach to every owner conversation, focusing on making sure sellers feel informed and supported long before any formal process begins.
Approaches Owners Can Take
Three Paths. Very Different Outcomes.
Unlike most decisions in your professional life, this one can’t be undone. The path you choose — and the preparation you bring to it — follows you to the closing table and beyond.
| Ackerman Group | Other Brokers | Selling Yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation & preparation | ✓Full financial normalization before any buyer conversations. Every adjustment verified. Every buyer works from the same accurate foundation. | Basic financials compiled on request. Buyers often receive uneven or incomplete information. | ✗You rely on the buyer’s version of your own numbers — calculated to minimize what they pay. |
| Buyer reach & competition | ✓Every active corporate group and qualified PE sponsor approached simultaneously. 15 different winning buyers in 2025 alone. | A familiar short list. Limited competition means limited leverage. | ✗One or two buyers at most. Without competition, the first offer is almost always the final offer. |
| Negotiation scope | ✓We negotiate the whole deal — price, structure, rollover equity, tax treatment, and post-sale employment terms. Not just the headline number. | Typically focused on headline price. Structure, tax positioning, and employment terms are left to you. | ✗You negotiate alone against professionals who do this for a living — often conceding terms without realizing it. |
| Post-close support | ✓We stay involved through employment transitions, earnouts, equity events, and deferred payments. 49 prior clients supported post-close in 2025. | Involvement typically ends at closing. | ✗No advocate once the deal closes. The months after signing are where most DIY sellers realize what they didn’t know. |
| Cost structure | ✓Success-only. No retainers, no upfront fees. We get paid when you get paid — and only when you close. | Commission is due in full at closing — regardless of how much of your sale proceeds you actually receive that day. If 70% is deferred, you still owe 100% of the fee on day one. | No broker fee — but doing this right takes 100–120 hours of your time. What is an hour of yours worth? That cost rarely shows up in the math, but it should. |
The best time to understand your options is before you need them.
Learn How to Get It RightWhat This Looks Like in Practice
Real Transactions. Real Outcomes.
Dr. LeeAnn DuMars
Started the process alone. We took it across the finish line.
Dr. DuMars had already begun negotiating with a corporate buyer when she engaged Ackerman. The single-buyer process had produced one offer. We re-ran the process with competitive exposure — the difference was substantial.
versus the initial single-buyer offer
The confidentiality was handled so carefully that none of my staff knew anything was happening until we were ready to announce. For a practice like mine, that mattered enormously.
They told us what our practice was actually worth, not what we wanted to hear. That honesty was the most valuable thing they provided — before we even got to the negotiation.
Dr. Deborah Adams & Dr. Pete Magnuson
Not all EBITDA is created equal. We made sure theirs was counted correctly.
Buyers know accountants who want to minimize EBITDA for tax purposes — and would have been happy to pay less because of it. Our analysts combed through the numbers to ensure the practice was valued accurately.
financial normalization
I had no idea how complex this process was until Ackerman walked me through it. By the time we went to market, I understood exactly what was happening and why. That made all the difference.
Dr. Steven Whittle
12 offers. None of them would have happened without a structured process.
Dr. Whittle knew his practice had value. What he didn’t know was how many buyers would compete for it — or what that competition would do to the final terms. 12 simultaneous offers produced leverage a single negotiation never could.
corporate buyers
The First Conversation Costs You Nothing.
A confidential consultation commits you to nothing. You’ll leave knowing more about what your practice is worth and what the process looks like than most owners ever do — whether you sell this year or in five.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation
No obligation. No pressure. Just a direct conversation with an advisor who knows your market.
Confidential. We never share your information with buyers or third parties.