NEW YORK—The Beekman Group, a private equity firm based in here in New York City, said last week that an affiliate of Beekman Investment Partners IV (Beekman) has formed a strategic partnership with Campus Eye Group of Hamilton, N.J., and Total Eye Care (TECC) of Levittown, Pa. The two eyecare practices will now collectively be supported by the newly formed Campus Eye Group Management Holdings LLC, the announcement noted. Campus Eye Holdings is supporting the company’s 10 ophthalmology practice locations and one ambulatory surgical center (ASC) in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deals marks Beekman Group’s initial move into the eyecare sector.
 
As part of the transaction, Campus Eye Holdings also partnered with Virtua Health (Virtua), a New Jersey-based health system, to manage its surgery center. Virtua, South Jersey’s largest health care provider, is a non-profit health care system in Southern N.J. that operates a network of hospitals, surgery centers and physician practices, among other offices.
 
“We are excited to partner with Beekman on our next phase of growth,” Dr. E. Bruce DiDonato, chief executive officer of Campus Eye Holdings, said in the announcement. “As we evaluated strategic alternatives, we selected Beekman because of their management-as-partners mentality, flexible investment approach, and growth focused mandate. We look forward to working together as we expand our footprint in nearby markets by partnering with additional high-quality providers that align with our vision for clinical excellence.”
 
Campus Eye Group, founded in 1981 by Dr. DiDonato, is a multi-specialty eyecare services practice and surgical center located in central New Jersey. The professional staff is comprised of both therapeutically certified optometrists and board-certified ophthalmologists who deliver the highest quality of eyecare, innovative medical and surgical care, and the finest optical services available, the announcement noted.
 
Campus Eye Group’s state-of-the-art ASC has been designed as a “one-of-kind” comprehensive eye services surgery center, offering the most sophisticated laser and computerized equipment in the region.

Total Eye Care, led by partners Dr. Harmon Stein and Dr. Judith Lavrich, is a multi-specialty eye services practice and all-inclusive ocular health care provider located in eastern Pennsylvania. TECC’s approach to patient care starts with its doctors who are devoted to creating a welcoming, and family-oriented relationship with patients.
 
Andrew Marolda, managing director at Beekman, said that Beekman and its principals have significant experience in building physician practice groups with multiple founding partners across various specialties, “which will prove valuable as we grow a best-in-class ophthalmology platform in the NJ/Pa. market.”
 
He added, “The team at Campus Eye Holdings have built a high-quality medical practice with high marks from patients, providers, and payors. We look forward to supporting Dr. DiDonato and our management partners to scale the platform further.”
 
Campus Eye Holdings adds to The Beekman Group’s growing health care sector expertise in multi-site physician practice management, dental, ambulatory and payor services.
 
The Beekman Group focuses on building industry-leading companies in the health care, consumer and business services sectors. The firm partners with management teams who desire to be significant owners and create meaningful value by accelerating organic and acquisition growth initiatives, according to the firm’s announcement.