Asking the Tough Questions About DSO Partnerships

Chip Fichtner is the co-founder of Large Practice Sales and a return guest on the podcast. His firm helps practice owners complete transactions and partner with DSOs and "invisible" DSOs who allow the doctor to maintain autonomy and a minority position. We last spoke on the podcast about two years ago. Because of our episode, his firm closed a $50+ million dollar deal on a large pediatric office.

Chip has a tight pulse on what's going on in the DSO world. I wanted to get an update on what DSOs are doing with pediatric practices in light of the higher interest rates. I try to ask Chip some tougher questions in this interview.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Is access to capital an issue for DSOs right now?

- Have we seen any DSOs struggle or go under because of lower free cash flow?

- What happens to the dentist's retained equity in the parent company if the parent company fails?

- Who calculates EBITDA in these transactions, and where does all the variability come from?

- How does LPS keep tabs and verify the quality and financials of the DSOs they work with?

- What does the ideal pediatric dental practice look like in terms of commanding a high multiple?

Chip can be reached at www.largepracticesales.com