PORTLAND, ORE.—PECAA, Professional Eyecare Associates of America, a nationwide doctor alliance group for independent eyecare professionals, has launched a three-part educational event series to their membership that focuses on practice transitions and the overall private equity landscape. Topics discussed in the series will include an overview on how private equity is affecting independent optometry, major players in private equity, key considerations during a sale, understanding EBITDA and the value of your practice, exit strategies and much more.

“Practice sales are a one-time occurrence for most owners, and this process is much more complicated today as private equity players enter the market,” explained Bryan Hoban, MBA, Manager, PECAA. “PECAA has created this education series to help owners consider all the variables leading up to a sale, so they are best positioned to prosper throughout their career.”

The first event in the series takes place on Thursday, Feb. 18, and is hosted by PECAA co-founder Lance Anderson, od, and hoban. It is set to include a q&a session with PECAA’s panel speakers which will be composed of doctors of the organization who chose to sell to private equity as well as those who decided against it. The first event will conclude with small breakout groups diving deeper into multiple topics discussed during the event. The series is also set to feature several vendor partners of the organization, including a guest segment by Tyler Judkins of Optometry Practice Valuations.

“The emergence of private equity and other corporate players has increased the speed and complexity of practice transactions,” said Jamie Hughes, senior vice president, PECAA. “while selling to private equity will be a good fit for some practice owners, we believe this series will also shine a positive light on the future of independent optometry.”

Dates have not been finalized for the next two events. PECAA anticipates they will take place soon. Dr. Anderson and Hoban will host all three events, but the guest speakers will change.

The events are open to PECAA members and also a limited number of spots are open to non-members, who can email info@pecaa.com to learn more about registration.