M&A activity snapshot
Veterinary medicine is one of the most consolidated practice-based categories in healthcare. Corporate ownership now accounts for 25% to 50% of general veterinary practices and approximately 75% of specialty and emergency clinics. The same review estimates that private equity firms invested about $45 billion in U.S. veterinary deals from 2017 to 2022.
The market being consolidated is still large and fragmented at the clinic level. Total U.S. veterinary practices grew from 32,634 in 2021 to 34,000 in 2022. Groups are estimated to own around 30% of U.S. practices while generating more than half of companion animal revenue.
The current phase is consolidation of consolidators, financed heavily with private credit. Business development companies held $3.1 billion in principal lent to veterinary companies as of the third quarter of 2025. In the broader pet sector, Capstone Partners counted 18 announced or completed transactions in YTD 2026 versus eight a year earlier, and expects Vet & Health activity to strengthen after a softer 2025.
Who is buying
The largest owners are strategic and sponsor-backed groups operating hundreds to thousands of sites. Mars operates more than 3,000 veterinary clinics worldwide, and PetVet Care Centers operates more than 450 hospitals. When NVA reorganized in 2023, it reported more than 1,500 hospitals and pet resorts and carved out Ethos Veterinary Health's 145 specialty hospitals as a separate business.
Mid-size platforms keep buying, both single practices and other groups. Southern Veterinary Partners and Mission Veterinary Partners joined together as Mission Pet Health, a platform Octus describes as valued at $8.6 billion with approximately $580 million of EBITDA and over 750 locations. AEA-backed AmeriVet bought 14 practices from Northeast Veterinary Partners, bringing its network to 186 clinics.
Ownership models differ, and the model shapes what a seller keeps. Service-organization buyers typically buy 100% of a practice. In partnership models, veterinarians retain 20% to 45% ownership in their individual hospital and often roll equity into the platform. The breadth of the buyer pool is visible in one broker's data: Ackerman Group sold 50 hospitals to 15 different buyers in 2025.
What buyers look for
Doctor capacity is the binding constraint. An AAVMC-commissioned study projects a shortage of 17,106 veterinarians by 2032, though the same summary notes an AVMA projection of a surplus of 8,200 veterinarians. Whichever forecast holds, buyers pay for retained associates. Per-associate retention incentives grew 55% from 2024 to 2025 in Ackerman's deals.
Visit and invoice trends now get the same scrutiny as EBITDA. Veterinary visits declined 2.3% in 2024 compared with 2023, and active patient counts fell 1.9%. Ackerman reports that invoice counts have declined at least 2% for four straight years. Price has carried revenue instead: vet care prices rose 7.4% year-over-year in January 2026.
Regulatory diligence is state-specific. Corporate-practice rules, advertising rules, and fee-splitting limits vary, and diligence lists also include DEA compliance and state controlled substance regulation, medical record retention, and telemedicine rules.
What makes a strong company
Practices at the top of the range typically show:
- Several full-time DVMs, not one owner-doctor. Multiples of 13.5-16x are being paid for top performers with at least 4 DVMs and $700,000 of EBITDA.
- Associates who are likely to stay through a transition, with retention terms that can be priced. For practices with 1-3 associates, the average per-associate retention amount is over $140,000.
- Productive doctor schedules. A full-time companion-animal veterinarian averages 13 to 14 appointment slots per weekday, so added doctors and hours are how capacity grows.
- Stable or growing patient counts, not only rising average invoices.
- A clean regulatory record in a state whose ownership rules fit the buyer's structure.
- Specialty, emergency, or referral services where present. Specialists and exotic animal clinics obtained significantly higher multiples than general practices.
Valuation and deal structure
Published multiples diverge, and the gap is about which deals are measured. Ackerman's weighted-average general-practice multiple was essentially flat in 2H 2025 at 12.4x, down from the 1H 2025 peak of 12.5x. The firm says capital inflows drove hospital multiples to today's 8-15x EBITDA from pre-2017 levels of 4-6x. Octus, describing the broader private-practice market, puts Q1 2025 EBITDA multiples in the mid- to high single digits.
Platform-level values sit well above practice values. Ackerman reports the Mission Pet Health deal closed at 17-18x EBITDA. Western Veterinary Partners moved into a continuation vehicle at an enterprise value of $2 billion, reported as a "high teens EBITDA multiple". That platform-to-practice spread is the economic engine of the roll-up.
Structure is shifting toward partnership. Nearly 50% of Ackerman transactions in 2025 involved JVs, and buyers want JV partners to commit to 4-5 years. Credit stress also matters to sellers taking rolled equity. BDC lenders marked one PetVet Care Centers holding down to 88% of par and Ares' AmeriVet subordinated loans to 83% of par. TSG-owned Thrive Pet Healthcare exchanged its debt and extended all maturities to June 2028.
Antitrust and state ownership rules shape what gets bought. The FTC required Mars to divest 12 clinics to clear its $9.1 billion acquisition of VCA, with divestitures to NVA, Pathway Partners Vet Management Company, and PetVet. Mars must also notify the Commission for 10 years before acquiring additional specialty or emergency clinics in certain areas.
At the state level, approximately 18 states still prohibit corporate ownership of practices and 15 allow it in some measure. As of a 2020 law-firm review, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, and North Carolina prohibit the corporate practice of veterinary medicine, so investors there buy non-clinical assets through a management vehicle. Florida, Oregon, and California instead require a designated licensed veterinarian-manager.
Outlook
Expect selective buying over the next 12-24 months rather than a broad slowdown. Platform recaps are the gating factor. Ackerman notes no subsequent successful recapitalizations more than 12 months after the Mission Pet Health deal, and warns that lower recap multiples could pull down practice multiples.
State legislation is the second variable. Recent bills in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and New York targeted corporate or private equity ownership, and each failed or stalled. Colorado's proposals would have required written notice to the attorney general at least 60 days before closing. A revived version would add time and disclosure to deals in that state.
For owners, the practical read is that multi-doctor practices with stable patient counts still draw competitive bids. Single-doctor practices with declining visits face a thinner, more price-disciplined buyer pool.
Own a veterinary practice and want a sense of what it could be worth before you talk to anyone? Run the valuation tool or see the broader healthcare services M&A picture. See also: why vertical-specific buyers outperform generalists in outbound.