Sunday, May 04, 2008

A Discussion on Corporate Dentistry's Workings

Click Here for the sales pitch so to speak about Heartland Dental.

Includes how it works, what cuts the docs get and Employee Stock Options.

But what I find interesting is this: (The Interesting Part, is the Investment Bank involved. They were at this site for several hours last week. Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin.

Anyway this is a information release concerning Employee Stock Option...

EMPLOYEES ACQUIRE 38.5% OF DENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES, INC.
IN PARTIAL ESOP BUYOUT
EFFINGHAM, Ill. (January 21, 2004) – Employees of Dental Health Resources, Inc. (d/b/a Heartland Dental Care, or “Heartland”) have acquired a 38.5% ownership stake in the dental practice management company. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.

Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, an international investment bank, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Heartland. Houlihan Lokey structured the transaction, designed the ESOP security and arranged the financing for the purchase.

Heartland’s newly formed Employee Stock Ownership Trust, or ESOT, purchased convertible preferred stock representing 38.5% of the ownership of Heartland using senior credit and mezzanine funding. The transaction provided liquidity for certain selling shareholders, including Dr. Richard Workman, who founded Heartland in August 1997. The unique structure of the ESOP security and transaction provides the ESOP with an annual dividend yield while providing the company with significant future tax savings.

Workman, president and chief executive officer of Heartland, said, “Everyone is extremely excited about the ESOP and what it means for our future. The employees understand they have an opportunity to have a positive impact on the dental profession. They also realize they will create an economic interest for their knowledge by helping dental practices with management responsibilities.”

“We appreciate the dedicated professionals Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin assembled for the ESOP. The entire transaction team should be complimented for all their hard work and professionalism,” Workman said.

Lou Paone, managing director of Houlihan Lokey’s Washington, D.C., office said the transaction is expected to generate significant value to the employee owners in future years. “Heartland and its executive management team have a very strong employee ownership orientation,” Paone said. “The ESOP transaction and implementation marries a shareholder liquidity event with the corporate goal of aligning the employees with the future direction of the firm.” The Heartland transaction represents an innovative example of the growing trend of shareholders seeking liquidity by implementing a partial ESOP buyout structure, Paone said.

Patrick Hurst, managing director and head of Houlihan Lokey’s Healthcare Group, stated, “There haven’t been many liquidity events for shareholders of dental practice management companies in recent years. The ESOP structure is a creative alternative to selling to a financial or strategic buyer, and has the added benefit of giving the employees a real economic stake in the future success of the company.”

About Dental Health Resources, Inc.
Dental Health Resources, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Effingham, Ill., that provides a full range of management, administrative, and financial services to dental practices in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee throughout cities with populations that range from 40,000 to 500,000. By providing management services to handle the business aspects of the dental practices, the company allows dentists to use their management and business skills to be responsible for certain operations of the company and to focus primarily on delivering quality patient care. Heartland also provides capital for the development, growth, and acquisition of additional dental practices.

Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, an international investment bank established in 1970, provides a wide range of services, including mergers and acquisitions, financing, financial opinions and advisory services, financial restructuring, and merchant banking. In 2003, Houlihan Lokey ranked as the No. 1 M&A advisor for transactions under $200 million and the No.4 advisor for transactions under $1 billion. The firm has been the No. 1 provider of fairness opinions for the past four years and has the largest financial restructuring practice of any investment bank in the country. The firm has approximately 600 employees in nine offices in the United States and the United Kingdom. It annually serves more than 1,000 clients ranging from closely held companies to Global 500 corporations. For more information, visit Houlihan Lokey’s Website at www.hlhz.com.

© 2004 Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

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