Every transition has its challenges

Orthodontic Practice Sale
Let’s call him Dr. Seller–a widely respected orthodontist in an affluent town, found himself facing a dilemma. After years of successful practice, Dr. Seller believed it was time for him to retire, sell the practice, and pursue new hobbies and spend quality time with his family. After some negotiation on the purchase price and specifics of the transition, Dr. Seller agreed to move forward with the sale.
The new orthodontist needed to get a landlord’s approval to take over the lease of the clinic space together with a sublease to another specialist as well. In addition, there was the question of how to deal with treatment in progress. In this orthodontic practice, we had partially- and fully-prepaid cases in which treatment was partially- or wholly-incomplete. For example, a patient may have paid for Invisalign in full, up front, but without having actually started treatment. Or, a patient may have paid, with labs paid already by Dr. Seller, but the patient is only 9 months into a 24 month treatment plan. How much of the fee goes to Dr. Seller and how much to Dr. Buyer? Who pays for the retainer? What if revisions are required? With our counsel and assistance, these issues were resolved one-by-one between Drs. Seller and Buyer.
From LOI to Closing, the transaction took roughly eight weeks, including negotiations between attorneys and between clients. Dr. Seller continued to offer transition services to Dr. Buyer at the practice for some weeks. While Dr. Buyer is continuing to operate and grow the practice, Dr. Seller is now retired and happy to be spending more time with his family!
- Business
- 2023
- Florida Orthodontist