SAN FRANCISCO—FFL Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on middle market companies, is announcing today that it has completed a growth investment in Clarkson Eyecare, Inc., a leading independent, full service eyecare provider. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Clarkson Eyecare is one of the largest optometry chains in the Midwest, with 63 locations in Missouri and Southern Illinois, and 19 locations in Ohio and Northern Kentucky. The company, founded in 1979, serves the vision care needs of more than 180,000 patients annually, offering ophthalmological and LASIK services in two state-of-the-art surgery centers. In addition, Clarkson Eyecare has developed its own proprietary software platform that electronically manages appointment scheduling, insurance verification, billing, and inventory levels.

"This partnership will enable Clarkson Eyecare to expand and serve more patients and partner with leading regional brands throughout the country," said Anthony Nunn, president and CEO Clarkson Eyecare. "FFL shares our vision for the company's future, and has the resources, industry knowledge and operational experience to help us realize our tremendous potential."

"Working closely with FFL, we will accelerate our growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions of high-quality practices that can benefit from our strong infrastructure, platform and network," added Dr. Jim Wachter, chief medical officer and co-chairman of the board of Clarkson Eyecare. Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Jehling, founder of Clarkson, will continue to provide strategic guidance for the company and serve as co-chairman on the board going forward.

"Clarkson Eyecare is a premier, medically-focused optical provider with a strong track record of working with doctors who provide the highest quality care and an excellent patient experience," said Chris Harris, managing director of FFL. "We believe the company is uniquely positioned for sustained long-term growth in the fragmented, independent optometric space. We look forward to working with Anthony Nunn, Dr. Jim Wachter, and the rest of the management team to drive further growth and to achieve their vision for the company."

Harris told VMail, that last September, Clarkson Eyecare acquired Thoma & Sutton, with 19 locations throughout Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Lance Snarr continues to head that business and work directly with Nunn as a group within the larger group. Said Harris, "Our strategy is a 'hub and spoke' model, and we are actively looking for other hubs, groups of 10 to 30 units in a geography, where we can make investments to help them expand via single-unit acquisitions in the markets that they know. With Clarkson, it's our intention to structure this as the place where optometrists are excited to partner when they are considering the future of their practice, we've been spending a lot of time and effort on that. "

Among the assets included in the acquisition, Clarkson's Eyecare360 software was recently certified by the Drummond Group as a complete electronic health record system that meets all of the meaningful use criteria established by the Department of Health and Human Services. "This is one of the hidden gems of Clarkson that we are most impressed with," said Harris, who explained that while they would not look to market this software product to other companies right out of the gate, that it would be an opportunity down the road. "We have not seen the same level of software proficiency elsewhere," he added.

FFL has been exploring the vision care space for nearly three years, Harris said. Last November, as VMail reported, FFL made a growth investment in Eyemart Express, one of the top 10 U.S. optical retailers and a leader in the value segment of the market. Working with Eyemart Express founder Dr. Doug Barnes, Sr. and with Doug Barnes, Jr., CEO, Harris emphasized that Eyemart Express would run separately from Clarkson. "We're very excited about both of these—the medically-focused model of Clarkson and the value segment of Eyemart Express," he told VMail, "but these are two distinct business tiers. We see that each of these platforms offer great opportunity in the U.S. market." He added, "We might look for business opportunities or efficiencies on an arm's length basis that could present benefits to both, but the boards, the management, the governance of both are very separate."

HPC Puckett & Company acted as financial advisor to Clarkson Eyecare and Golub Capital provided financing for the transaction.

FFL manages over $4.5 billion of capital, and invests in consumer products and services, financial services, healthcare services, and business services. Harris noted, "We take a proactive approach as a firm. We look at vision and say this is a good place to be—there is some government reimbursement but not a lot, the industry is quite stable, but it is going through much change and there are many independents out there looking for real options and a path to liquidity."