Posted by: EyeSouth Partners in News
ATLANTA – (Sept. 30, 2022) – EyeSouth Partners (“EyeSouth” or the “Company”), the largest comprehensive ophthalmology platform in North America, is proud to announce and welcome its new private equity firm investor, Olympus Partners. Founded in 1988, Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services and manufacturing. Prior to the acquisition, EyeSouth was backed by Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm who had managed the company’s growth since its founding in 2017.
“EyeSouth Partners has had exponential growth over the last five years thanks to our doctor leadership, our focus on patient care with superb medical outcomes, our experienced management team, and the support of Shore Capital. We are very excited about this next phase of our growth and the opportunity to serve even more patients across the United States,” said Rex Adams, Chief Executive Officer at EyeSouth Partners.
Earlier this week, EyeSouth Partners welcomed two more practices in Chicago into its portfolio, Arbor Centers for EyeCare and the Chicago Eye Institute, now bringing the company to a total of 33 practices throughout the country. In the fourth quarter of 2022, EyeSouth and their affiliated practices also onboarded twenty doctors throughout the United States – which included four glaucoma & cataract fellows, three retina fellows, three oculoplastic fellows, one pediatric fellow, four comprehensive ophthalmologists and six optometrists.
“We are thrilled to partner with Rex, the rest of the management team, and the exceptional doctors and clinicians at EyeSouth,” said Griffin Barstis, Principal at Olympus. “They have built the leading medically focused national platform in ophthalmology. We look forward to supporting the organization’s further expansion as they continue their mission of providing the highest quality eyecare to patients across the U.S.”
“We are extremely proud of what the EyeSouth team has built,” said Justin Ishbia, Chairman of the EyeSouth Board and Founder and Managing Partner of Shore. “Through the company’s significant growth, the EyeSouth team remained committed to clinical quality and a patient-first culture above all else. With strong executive management in place under Rex’s leadership, we look forward to following EyeSouth’s continued growth as a leading national eye care provider.”
EyeSouth Partners is physician-led organization and has 28 of its affiliate doctors participating in leadership or advisory roles, including a physician board, optometry board and junior physician board, representing doctors across every geography. The 98 percent retention rate of its ophthalmologists and a 97 percent retention rate amongst optometrists speaks volumes about the company’s unique culture.
“It’s been exciting to watch our company expand from its very first affiliate, Georgia Eye Partners, to more than 33 practices in 11 different states with doctors of all specialties and backgrounds,” said Dr. Eugene Gabianelli, Co-founder of EyeSouth Partners and Georgia Eye Partners. “Our continued success is due in part to our focus on keeping our physicians involved in the decision-making process with their own practices and with EyeSouth. It’s an honor to work alongside our country’s leading ophthalmologists and it’s rewarding knowing that we’ve built a company that helps more than a million people each year live a better quality of life because of their improved eyesight.”
EyeSouth’s partner practices’ clinical mission is to provide high quality medical and surgical specialty eye care. EyeSouth supports its affiliated practices and physician partners with strategic guidance, administrative resources, operating expertise, and capital with an absolute focus on clinical quality and a patient-first culture. EyeSouth’s affiliate network consists of over 270 doctors providing medical and surgical eye care services at over 155 locations in 11 states across the U.S. EyeSouth’s physicians will remain significant investors alongside Olympus and management.
About EyeSouth Partners
Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, EyeSouth Partners (“EyeSouth”) is an eye care management services organization committed to partnering with leading doctors to build a premier network of eye care services throughout the U.S. EyeSouth’s partner practices’ clinical mission is to provide high quality medical and surgical specialty eye care. EyeSouth supports its affiliated practices and physician partners with strategic guidance, administrative resources, operating expertise, and capital with an absolute focus on clinical quality and a patient-first culture. EyeSouth’s affiliate network consists of more than 270 doctors providing medical and surgical eye care services with more than 155 locations throughout Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois and North Carolina. EyeSouth was previously backed by Shore Capital Partners and is now backed by Olympus Capital. For more information about EyeSouth Partners, please visit: www.eyesouthpartners.com.
About Olympus Partners
Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs. Founded in 1988, Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services and manufacturing.
About Shore Capital Partners
Shore Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm with offices in Nashville, is focused on microcap investments within the Healthcare, Food and Beverage, Business Services, and Real Estate industries. Shore supports management partners with capital, business development expertise, and industry knowledge to accelerate growth, fund acquisitions, and generate value for shareholders. Shore targets investments in proven, successful private companies with superior management teams, stable cash flow, and significant growth potential, including organic growth and growth through industry consolidation. Shore has approximately $3.0 billion of cumulative capital commitments through various investment vehicles. For more information, please visit: www.shorecp.com.
