Are you considering selling your veterinary practice? If so, you need to know your options. Contrary to popular belief, selling a practice involves much more than simply finding a buyer and completing the sale. In this article, we discuss some common options for selling a veterinary practice.
Option for Selling Your Practice
After you’ve officially made the decision to sell your veterinary practice, you have several selling options, depending on your goals. The most common options for selling a veterinary practice are:
- Sell to your partners: Selling to a business partner is a good option if he or she is interested in purchasing your share of the business. However, this may not be an option if you and your partner have similar exit strategies regarding your practice.
- Sell to a corporation: Since most corporate consolidators are not interested in mixed practice acquisitions, selling to a corporation can be a good option for small veterinary practices. Corporations tend to pay well for veterinary practices, but they often require owners to stay on for two or more years. Therefore, if you are ready to retire, this may not be the right option for you.
- Sell to an associate: If you have the right associate, selling your practice to him or her can be an excellent exit plan. The advantage of selling to an associate is that you both already know each other, your risk is low, and the benefit to your associate is high. However, these types of sales tend to be financed by the seller, so this may not be appropriate for you if you require all your money upfront.
- Sell to a non-veterinarian: Non-veterinarians invest in veterinary practices all the time. After all, it’s a great business. However, whether you can sell your practice to a non-veterinarian depends on the laws of your state. Some states allow this, and some don’t. However, even if your state doesn’t allow non-veterinarians to purchase veterinary practices, there may be legal strategies available to make this possible.
- Sell on the open market: This is the most common method of selling small veterinary practices. If you plan to sell on the open market, a veterinary attorney can help you locate potential buyers, draft legal documents, and do everything else required for a successful veterinary practice sale.
Contact our Experienced Veterinary Attorneys
If you are ready to sell your veterinary practice, you should contact an experienced veterinary attorney as soon as possible. At Mahan Law, we help veterinary practice owners buy and sell practices nationwide. Attorney Anthony Mahan isn’t just an experienced veterinary attorney, he’s also a veterinary practice owner. Therefore, he knows the veterinary industry inside and out, and he will work diligently to ensure that the sale of your veterinary practice is a success. Please contact our office today to schedule a free consultation.