(L to R) Michael Nordlund, MD, PhD, vice chairman of the board at CEI; Daniel Miller MD, PhD, chief medical officer at CEI; Clyde Bell, CEO of CEIVP; and Robert Foster, MD, chairman of the board at CEI.

DENVER—Cincinnati Eye Institute (CEI), one of the largest ophthalmology practices in the country has announced the formation of CEI Vision Partners, a management services organization, to support CEI’s anticipated growth and the pursuit of additional partnerships with other leading ophthalmology providers. CEI is working with Revelstoke Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm. An announcement said that CEI is the only practice in the region that offers “front-to-back” eyecare and has leading physicians across all major sub-specialties.

CEI completes over 200,000 annual patient encounters and over 25,000 annual surgical procedures across 14 clinics and three ambulatory surgical centers.

“After a multi-year outbound search in the vision care sector, we are very excited to partner with such an impressive group of physicians and management to launch CEI Vision Partners, which marks our first investment in Revelstoke Capital Partners Fund II,” said Simon Bachleda, managing partner at Revelstoke.

CEI’s physician shareholders will retain ownership through CEI Vision Partners and, along with the over 650 existing employees, will continue in their current roles, the announcement said.

“CEI has over 60 doctors who are leaders in ophthalmic care, surgery and research and have a national reputation for providing the highest quality of patient care in the industry,” said Eric Shuey, managing director at Revelstoke.

“CEI Vision Partners is a true platform in the industry. Clyde Bell, CEO of CEI Vision Partners, and his management team have a differentiated relationship with the CEI’s physicians and, collectively, they have developed impressive infrastructure and capabilities to support and grow their operations,” said Andrew Welch, managing director at Revelstoke.

“The strategic and health care expertise that Revelstoke brings will enable us to accelerate our growth while maintaining the highest levels of compassionate patient care,” said Bell. “We are thrilled to partner with such an experienced team of investors committed to building industry-leading companies and enhancing the patient experience.”

McGuireWoods LLP acted as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Revelstoke. Proskauer Rose LLP acted as legal counsel and ZD Management, Inc acted as a consultant to CEI.

Founded in 1945 by Morris Osher, MD, CEI has grown to become the largest ophthalmology organization in the region with more than 60 practicing ophthalmologists and optometrists. CEI maintains 14 clinical centers and three ambulatory surgical centers.

Revelstoke partners with entrepreneurs and management teams to execute on a disciplined organic and acquisition growth strategy to build exceptional companies. Since the firm’s inception in mid-2013, Revelstoke has raised approximately $1.1 billion of equity and has completed 44 acquisitions, which includes 11 platform companies and 33 add-on acquisitions.