NEW YORK—“Demystifying Private Equity and Its Role in Optometry” is returning to Vision Expo East, to be held June 2-5 in Orlando, Fla. The 90-minute program, developed by Review of Optometric Business for Vision Expo, provides an overview of PE investment strategies and opportunities for OD-owners to maximize practice value in an ownership transfer to a private equity company. The program agenda will cover crucial topics, such as “Computing and Maximizing the Value of the Practice,” “Structures of Acquisition Deals,” “Understanding EBITDA,” and “The Role of the Practice Broker.”

“Demystifying Private Equity and Its Role in Optometry” will be held Friday, June 4. Registration is from 4:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m ET. The program presentation is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Seating will be limited due to social distancing restrictions, so interested ODs should reserve their seat now. Details and registration are posted here.

The program will be presented by Richard Edlow, OD, also known as The Eyeconomist, who was a partner in the Catonsville Eye Group, Catonsville, Md. Joining Dr. Edlow is Ken Krivacic, OD, MBA, founder of Las Colinas Eyecare in Irving, Tex. “As of April, 2021, about 12 percent of practicing optometrists and 10 percent of ophthalmologists are involved in some form of consolidation with PE backing,” said Dr. Edlow. “The opportunity to maximize the value of your payout is very real, and that’s a good thing for our profession.”

“We spend our careers being the best clinicians we can be, but we also have to be CEOs of our practices,” added Dr. Krivacic. “We’ve got to know our net revenue and compute our EBITDA because those are common objective measures that any buyer looks at before making an offer.”

“We thank Vision Expo East for offering us the opportunity to educate ODs on how to maximize the value of their practices as a business asset, said Al Greco, publisher, Review of Optometric Business. “Our goal is to equip OD-owners to explore transition opportunities in a highly informed manner. Private equity is just one transition route. The information we present is important to know no matter what transition route is taken.”