Owner's Guides

Optometry Practices for Sale: Buyers, Value, Process

Who is buying optometry practices in the US, named consolidators, real multiples, payer-mix value drivers, deal structure, taxes, and the sale process.

Palmstone Capital Research10 min read

Retail plus clinical, priced separately.

If you're searching optometry practices for sale, you're probably comparing your own practice against a market that looks busier than it actually is. National consolidators like MyEyeDr. and AEG Vision announce dozens of acquisitions a year, but most of the roughly 13,000 US eye-care practices will still change hands between two ODs, financed with a bank loan, never making a headline. Both markets are real. They price differently, and confusing the two is the single fastest way to misjudge what your practice is worth.

This page covers who's actually buying, what separates a strong offer from a weak one, how the process runs, and where owners get tripped up on tax and confidentiality. We also cover physical therapy clinics briefly at the end, a related but separate healthcare sale category with its own buyer pool.

Who Is Buying Optometry Practices Right Now

Individual ODs, associates, and local groups. This is still the largest buyer pool for a solo or two-doctor practice, especially under $1 million in revenue. Financing usually runs through conventional practice lending or an SBA-backed loan, so the price a buyer can pay is capped by what a lender will underwrite against your cash flow, not by a headline multiple you saw online. Deals here are almost always 100% asset purchases, largely cash at closing, with a transition of three to twelve months.

Optometry-focused MSOs and PE-backed platforms. These buyers value repeat exams, optical margin, medical optometry, and provider retention. In restricted-ownership states they acquire nonclinical assets and management rights while a licensed OD holds the clinical entity.

Integrated OD-MD platforms. These pay for referral density, medical optometry, and surgical conversion. A routine, vision-only practice with weak medical coding is a poor fit here regardless of size.

Named national and regional platforms:

Buyer or platform	Footprint	What it targets
MyEyeDr. (backed by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking)	1,000 optometry locations across 29 states as of June 2026; 79 acquisitions in 2025	High-quality optometry practices with strong clinical reputation, medical eye care, and technology fit
AEG Vision (owned by Riata Capital Group)	575 offices across 35 states as of April 2026; added 90 practices in 2025	Full-scope optometry and optical dispensaries, keeping local identity under a shared back office
Keplr Vision (backed by Imperial Capital and Golub)	More than 260 practices across 35 states, 2025	Medium to large, medically oriented practices with specialty-care mix
EyeCare Partners (backed by Partners Group)	Nearly 700 locations, 660-plus optometrists, 300-plus ophthalmologists across 18 states, 2025	Integrated optometry-ophthalmology groups with real referral density
Ascend Vision Partners (backed by Chicago Pacific Founders)	14 brands, 32 clinical and 17 optical locations across Florida and Texas, year-end 2024	Regional OD and MD practices with revenue-cycle and compliance support needs
TeamVision (within EssilorLuxottica)	About 130 locations, year-end 2024	Selective acquisitions tied to retail and optical integration

None of these platforms publish a standard multiple. Every figure below is broker guidance or a market estimate, not a disclosed transaction price.

What Buyers Actually Pay For

The gap between a mediocre offer and a strong one almost never comes down to revenue alone. It comes down to a handful of specific things a buyer can underwrite.

Payer mix and medical revenue. Documented medical optometry, specialty contact lens, dry eye, glaucoma, and diabetic eye care revenue is worth more than routine vision exams alone, because it's harder to replace with an online competitor and it supports a higher normalized EBITDA. One vision plan or medical payer over roughly 25% to 30% of collections works against you; buyers discount for concentration risk.

Retail versus clinical revenue split. Optical capture above roughly 55% to 60%, with clean gross-margin reporting and current inventory, is a real value driver, worth an estimated 0.25x to 0.75x on the multiple. But optical revenue isn't automatically higher quality. Stale frames marked at retail price, thin margins after remakes and warranties, or heavy online contact-lens leakage can make a large optical number worth less than it looks. A buyer will value inventory at landed cost, net of obsolescence, not at what's on the shelf tag.

Owner dependence. If you personally generate more than half the exams or referrals and want an immediate exit, expect a discount of roughly 0.5x to 1.5x. Two or more productive ODs with signed post-close retention moves the multiple the other way, up an estimated 0.5x to 1.5x.

Equipment and lease. OCT, fundus camera, visual field, topographer, and dry-eye devices are normally included in operating value if they're needed to produce the earnings a buyer is paying for. A near-term equipment replacement backlog reduces price dollar for dollar or through a lower multiple. On the lease side, a long term at market rent with assignment rights protects value; a short remaining term, a nonassignable sublease, or a redevelopment clause can make an otherwise good practice unfinanceable, which is a deal killer, not a discount.

Valuation by Size

Practice profile	Basis	Indicated range
Stable solo owner-operator, roughly $150K-$300K SDE	SDE / collections	2.0x-3.25x SDE, or 0.50x-0.75x collections
Strong single or two-OD practice, roughly $300K-$750K SDE	SDE, then EBITDA	2.75x-4.25x SDE, or 3.5x-5.0x normalized EBITDA (estimate)
Multi-OD practice, roughly $750K-$1.5M normalized EBITDA	EBITDA	4.5x-6.5x EBITDA (estimate)
Two to five locations, roughly $1.5M-$4M EBITDA	EBITDA	5.0x-7.0x EBITDA (estimate, medium-low confidence)
Regional group, roughly $4M-$12M EBITDA	EBITDA	6.0x-8.0x EBITDA (estimate, low confidence)

Current BizBuySell asking data puts the median optometry listing at $607,824 in revenue, $157,000 in SDE, and a $385,000 asking price, roughly 0.71x revenue and 2.64x SDE at the median. That's active asking data, not closed-deal evidence, and it skews toward smaller practices.

A worked example. Say your practice reports $340,000 in owner cash flow after your own salary. A buyer who'll operate the practice personally treats that as SDE and applies roughly 3.0x, landing near $1,020,000 in enterprise value. A PE-backed MSO instead treats it as EBITDA and first deducts a market-rate replacement OD, roughly $180,000 including payroll taxes and benefits, plus $15,000 to normalize your rent to market. Normalized EBITDA comes out closer to $145,000, and at an estimated 5.0x for a strong single-location practice, enterprise value lands near $725,000, before deciding how much of that is cash at close versus deferred, employment-contingent payments. Same practice, two buyer types, two very different numbers, and neither is wrong, they're pricing different things.

Deal Structure

An individual OD or associate buyer typically pays 80% to 100% cash at closing, with a seller note of 0% to 20% where a lender or valuation requires it. A PE-backed MSO add-on typically structures 70% to 90% as cash-equivalent consideration and 10% to 30% as rollover, deferred consideration, or earnout, with seller employment of three to five years. A platform recapitalization can retain 20% to 40% of seller value as equity, where governance, dilution, and exit rights determine what that retained piece is actually worth.

MyEyeDr. discloses its own structure publicly: 100% asset purchase, an upfront installment at closing plus deferred installments contingent on continued employment, and a minimum three-to-five-year work commitment. Watch the headline number. A 6.0x offer with 25% at-risk deferred value and reduced post-close pay can land worse, after tax, than a 5.0x all-cash offer. Compare cash at close, after-tax proceeds, and deferred risk, not the multiple on the term sheet.

Confidentiality During a Sale

A practice sale runs on controlled information. Buyer outreach starts with a blind teaser that doesn't name your practice, followed by an NDA before any confidential information memorandum goes out. Patient-identifiable data has no place in early diligence; buyers should be working from aggregate production, payer mix by category, and financial statements, not individual charts, until later-stage confirmatory diligence under a signed agreement. Staff and patients typically aren't told anything until close to closing, commonly in the final three to four weeks, so a leak mid-process can spook staff, trigger resignations, or invite a competing practice to poach patients before you've even signed an LOI. Run outreach through a broker or advisor who screens buyer eligibility and proof of funds before disclosing anything real.

Taxes and Transfer

Most optometry sales are structured as asset sales. Buyer and seller typically file IRS Form 8594 under Section 1060, allocating the price across cash, AR, inventory, equipment, and goodwill, and both sides must report a consistent allocation. Inventory and AR are generally ordinary income to you; equipment depreciation recapture is generally ordinary income under Section 1245; remaining goodwill and Section 1231 gain can get long-term capital-gain treatment. The buyer amortizes acquired goodwill and other Section 197 intangibles over 15 years, which is part of why buyers often prefer asset deals and push for more of the price allocated to goodwill and equipment rather than a noncompete. A C corporation asset sale can trigger tax at both the corporate and shareholder level, so model your after-tax number by entity type before you accept an LOI, not after.

State-level ownership rules add another layer. Some states, California among them, restrict ownership of the optometric corporation to licensed ODs. Others, like Ohio, permit a broader range of entity structures. Your state board also governs whether your trade name transfers automatically or needs separate approval, which affects how quickly a buyer can start operating under your existing brand.

Process and Timeline

A prepared, financeable practice typically sells in four to eight months from launch to close. A larger MSO deal, difficult payer credentialing, or a multi-state structure can push that to six to twelve months. Preparation should ideally start twelve to twenty-four months before you go to market: cleaning up records, resolving lease terms, and deciding whether you want an OD-to-OD sale, an associate buy-in, or an MSO transaction.

The critical path runs through lease consent, buyer financing, state ownership structure, and payer credentialing, none of which a signed LOI actually solves. Medicare enrollment changes must be reported to CMS within 30 days of a change of ownership, and vision plans like VSP and EyeMed can require recredentialing before a new owner can bill. Build that timeline into your closing date, not around it.

Common Mistakes

Adding back all of your owner compensation without deducting a fair-market replacement OD cost is the single most common valuation error in an owner-dependent practice, and it collapses under any real quality-of-earnings review. Quoting a collections percentage without a profit analysis is nearly as common; two $1 million practices can have very different value once you account for optical margin, staffing, and payer mix. Weak lease control, unreconciled optical inventory, and unworked billing denials all show up in diligence eventually, so it's cheaper to find and fix them before a buyer does.

Physical Therapy and Physiotherapy Clinics

Physical therapy clinics for sale are a distinct healthcare category from optometry, with their own regulators, payer dynamics, and buyer pool, so don't apply optometry multiples or buyer logic to a PT clinic sale. If you're weighing a physiotherapy or physical therapy clinic sale alongside an optometry practice, or comparing across healthcare verticals generally, we advise on both and can walk you through how the two markets actually differ.

FAQ

How much is an optometry practice worth?

A stable solo practice commonly asks 0.55x to 0.75x collections or 2.0x to 3.5x SDE. Larger, associate-led groups price off normalized EBITDA and can reach 4.5x to 7.0x, with anything higher reserved for scaled, multi-state platforms.

Should I use SDE or EBITDA for my practice?

Use SDE if the buyer will replace you clinically, which is the case for most individual and associate buyers. Use normalized EBITDA if you're talking to an MSO or platform that must employ an OD in your place. Never compare an SDE multiple against an EBITDA multiple without reconciling for owner labor first.

Will a PE-backed buyer purchase a one-doctor practice?

Sometimes, particularly for local density, strong medical optometry, or a seller willing to stay on. Many subscale solo practices remain a better fit for another OD, because integration cost and owner dependence can erase the premium a platform might otherwise pay.

Do I have to stay on after selling?

An OD-to-OD sale may need only a few months of transition. MSO buyers commonly require longer; MyEyeDr. publicly states a minimum three-to-five-year employment commitment tied to deferred payments.

Can a non-optometrist or PE fund own the practice directly?

It depends on the state. Some states restrict the clinical entity to licensed ODs, in which case the structure is an OD-owned professional entity paired with an MSO that owns the nonclinical assets, subject to fee-splitting and clinical-control rules.

How long does a sale actually take?

About four to eight months from a prepared launch to close. Credentialing delays, landlord consent, financing, or a multi-state MSO structure can stretch that to six to twelve months.

Outside the US

Canadian optometry sales run through provincial regulatory colleges rather than US state boards, and consolidation has been active there too, with platforms expanding across multiple provinces. UK optometry sales sit under the General Optical Council and a different NHS-linked payer structure entirely. If your practice is outside the US, treat the multiples and named buyers above as directional only, and talk to an advisor who works in your specific market.

If you're weighing a sale, or want a realistic read on what your practice would actually fetch from the buyers active right now, we can walk through it with you in confidence before you talk to anyone else. Start a confidential conversation with Palmstone Capital.

Palmstone Capital Research