Harris Williams Advises American Veterinary Group on its Sale to Oak Hill Capital

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it advised American Veterinary Group (AVG), a portfolio company of Latticework Capital Management (Latticework) and Trive Capital (Trive), on its sale to Oak Hill Capital (Oak Hill). AVG is an acquirer and operator of general practice and urgent care animal hospitals in the Southeastern United States. The transaction was led by Whit Knier and Geoff Smith of the Harris Williams Healthcare & Life Sciences (HCLS) Group, Corey Benjamin and William McBride of the firm’s Consumer Group, and Jason Kurian of the firm’s Richmond office.

“AVG’s visionary management team has built a leading veterinary services platform which uniquely combines general practice wellness care with a novel urgent care model to form a differentiated ecosystem in its markets, delivering an unmatched experience to the pets, pet families and veterinarian partners they serve,” said Whit Knier, a managing director at Harris Williams. “Given the company’s strong and growing regional footprint and innovative, integrated service offering, we believe AVG is poised for tremendous continued success with Oak Hill.”

“Leveraging the expertise and experience of the firm’s HCLS Group and Consumer Group allowed us to effectively tailor our positioning of the business and resulted in an optimal outcome for AVG, Latticework and Trive,” said Corey Benjamin, a managing director at Harris Williams. “AVG is a truly unique platform and we look forward to watching the company’s next chapter with Oak Hill.”

“Harris Williams has been an excellent partner throughout this transaction and their guidance, support and industry knowledge was integral to our successful outcome,” said Craig Niebur, CEO of AVG. “All of us at AVG are very grateful to Harris Williams and look forward to building on our strategic initiatives with Oak Hill.”

Founded in 2015, AVG owns and manages a network of general practice and urgent care veterinary hospitals that treat and protect over 500,000 pets annually. AVG delivers high touch practice management solutions while supporting clinical autonomy to help veterinarians at all stages of the practice lifecycle focus on the needs of their patients, instead of the needs of their business.

Headquartered in Dallas, Latticework is a growth oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. Latticework leverages its over 60 combined years of healthcare experience, as well as its network of industry executives, to help companies grow and realize their full long-term value. The firm is currently investing out of LCM Healthcare Fund I, LP.

Trive is a Dallas-based private equity firm managing approximately $2 billion in aggregate capital commitments. Trive focuses on investing equity and debt in what it sees as strategically viable middle market companies with the potential for transformational upside through operational improvement. The company seeks to maximize returns through a hands-on partnership that calls for identifying and implementing value creation ideas. The Trive team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals who have been involved in over 100 middle market transactions representing in excess of $6 billion in revenue across Trive’s targeted industry sectors and situations.

Oak Hill is a private equity firm managing funds with over $16 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 35 years, Oak Hill and its predecessors have invested in approximately 100 private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: services, industrials, media and communications, and consumer. Oak Hill works actively in partnership with management to implement strategic and operational initiatives to create franchise value.

Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).

The Harris Williams HCLS Group has experience across a broad range of sectors, including healthcare providers; payors and payor services; outsourced pharmaceutical services; medical device supply chain; healthcare IT; and pharmacy. For more information on the HCLS Group and other recent transactions, visit the HCLS Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.

The Harris Williams Consumer Group has completed more than 60 transactions in recent years across a variety of verticals, including branded consumer products; consumer services; food, beverage and agribusiness; and restaurant and retail. For more information on the Harris Williams Consumer Group and other recent transactions, visit the Consumer Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.

Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: [e-mail]). Geschäftsführer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business.