Sell a Veterinary Practices business

Owner-operator veterinary practices businesses trade at 2.3x–4x SDE for typical $500K–$3M SDE ranges. At $3M+ EBITDA scale the same operators sell at 8x–14x EBITDA. Multiples in this category are ebitda-based and data-sourced from PitchBook Healthcare Services 2025 + Bass Berry LMM Healthcare Report. Where you land in the range is driven by growth trajectory, revenue mix, customer concentration, and management-team depth beyond the owner.

Mars Veterinary Health (Banfield, VCA, BluePearl), National Veterinary Associates (JAB Holding), and PetVet Care Centers dominate consolidation. Active buyer archetypes in healthcare include Physician-services PE platform, Health system / MSO, Physician successor. Which of these bids for your business depends on scale — sub-$1M SDE is typically individual or search-fund territory, $1-3M SDE opens up PE platforms and strategics, and $3M+ EBITDA gets full LMM buyer attention.

Multi-doctor veterinary practices with 24/7 emergency or specialty capabilities trade at premium 10-14x EBITDA multiples — the specialty capability is what platform buyers actively pursue. Beyond the industry-specific factor, the universal drivers in healthcare are payer mix (commercial vs government) — commercial-weighted practices command premium; provider retention post-close (employment agreements + earn-outs standard); multiple providers/practitioners (not solo-owner-dependent).

Veterinary DVM shortage is acute; buyers scrutinize your DVM retention and locum-cost exposure very carefully. Buyers in this category also standardly scrutinize payer reimbursement rate compression and physician recruiting difficulty. Addressing these in advance in a well-prepared CIM materially reduces retrade risk during diligence.

Typical transaction range for veterinary practices is $800K–$15M in annual revenue. Below that, buyer pool narrows to individual and small-search-fund. Above that, PE platforms and strategics dominate. NAICS code 541940 — buyers screen by NAICS in most deal sources.

From the day you engage a broker to close, expect 6–12 months for a well-prepared business in healthcare. The prep work — financial cleanup, addbacks documentation, key-employee retention agreements, real estate lease sorting — is where 3-6 months of the timeline hides. Starting that early is what separates a full-multiple exit from a discounted one.