Westcove

2023 in Review

2023 Firmwide Update
January 2024

Summary

Westcove is excited to share an update on our continued success made possible by the collaboration and support of our clients, third-party partners, partners, strategic partners, and financial sponsors. Despite challenges in the national healthcare M&A landscape due to macroeconomic headwinds, we are proud to announce the successful closing of five transactions with a combined transaction value of $375 million in 2023. Westcove is proud to announce that it has successfully closed over $1 billion in total transaction value since its inception, just three years ago. We have fostered growth within our team by promoting from within and welcoming two new team members in 2023. Westcove was selected by Axial as a Top 100 Lower-Middle-Market M&A Advisor for 2023 and the firm received the Bruin Business 100 Award, which recognizes our excellence and leadership within the community. Furthermore, in 2023, the M&A Atlas Awards nominated Westcove as the Top-Ranked Healthcare M&A Boutique Investment Bank. As a part of our firmwide initiatives, Westcove has contributed a total of $1 million from transaction fees to support underrepresented businesses or scholarships, over the last three years. Of the five successfully advised transactions, the following overview highlights four of these transactions, offering insights into our ongoing coverage areas, firmwide developments, and the notable accomplishments of our talented team. We remain dedicated to delivering exceptional value and service to our clients and are looking forward to continuing to grow in 2024 and beyond.

Closed Transaction Overview

In 2023, we closed five transactions across several subindustries within healthcare services:

    •        Aesthetic Surgery                             •        Cardiology                                           •        Employer Direct Primary Care

    •        Medical Spa                                       •        Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

Below, are brief overviews of four of our five closed transactions in 2023 in reverse chronological order:

Carient Heart & Vascular Partners with Undisclosed Investor

Carient Heart & Vascular (“Carient”), headquartered in Manassas, Virginia, is the premier cardiovascular practice in the region, providing high-quality cardiovascular care across Northern Virginia and the surrounding community. The practice consists of 16 cardiologists, one vascular surgeon, and 12 advanced practice providers who provide quality cardiovascular treatment and prevention across seven state-of-the-art medical facilities. Carient has become a leading cardiology practice in the Mid-Atlantic region due to its highly specialized physicians, strong corporate and administrative capabilities, and a demonstrated ability to attract new patients.

Through a highly structured and competitive auction process curated by Westcove, Carient partnered with the undisclosed investor who provided the ideal combination of resources and vision to execute upon its shared vision of providing the best-in-class cardiovascular care to patients. Westcove achieved and exceeded Management expectations through this tailored process. Through this partnership, Carient will serve as the undisclosed investor’s flagship platform as it continues to grow and expand across the Mid-Atlantic.

Columbus Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery Partners with Aesthetic Partners (a portfolio company of Norwest Venture Partners)

Columbus Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery (“CAPS”) is one of the largest plastic surgery and medical spa practices in the Midwest. CAPS’ six award-winning plastic surgeons provide the full spectrum of cosmetic medical procedures and are among the most sought-after in the Midwest. CAPS’ strong management team and commitment to clinical and operational excellence has made it a leading medical aesthetics organization in Central Ohio and one of the most recognizable names in the cosmetic industry. With two state-of-the-art 20,000 sq. ft. locations in Upper Arlington, Ohio, and in Gahanna, Ohio, CAPS is poised to continue its remarkable growth alongside its new partner.

Aesthetic Partners (“AP”), backed by Norwest Venture Partners, collaborates with leading Medical Aesthetics, Cosmetic Dermatology, and Plastic Surgery Clinics in the United States. Westcove worked closely with CAPS’ management team to ensure a seamless and highly competitive auction process. The partnership with CAPS provides AP with a significant foothold in the Midwest and an opportunity to further expand throughout the region.

Bay Area Cardiology Associates Partnership with Cardiovascular Associates of America (backed by Webster Equity Partners)

Bay Area Cardiology Associates P.A. (“Bay Area Cardiology”), established in 1991, is a leading cardiology practice for patients in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Bay Area Cardiology provides patient-centric comprehensive cardiovascular services, including vascular ultrasounds, echocardiograms, and cardiac CT. The experienced clinical and support team consists of 21 providers, 15 physicians, 6 nurse practitioners, and 68 staff across four state-of-the-art locations in Brandon, Sun City Center, Riverview, and East Tampa. Bay Area Cardiology’s ancillary services cover clinical research, fellowship and residency programs, and PCI and STEMI services.

Cardiovascular Associates of America (“CVAUSA”) is backed by Webster Equity Partners, an investor with high-impact growth strategies in the healthcare services space. CVAUSA, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, shares business expertise and resources with physicians through its physician-centered practice management model. Through this process, Westcove successfully created additional value by highlighting Bay Area Cardiology’s growth initiatives. This partnership with Bay Area Cardiology will expand and enhance CVAUSA’s presence in Tampa Bay and its surrounding areas.

The Natural Result’s Partnership with Undisclosed Investor

The Natural Result / Center for Aesthetic Artistry (“The Natural Result” or “TNR”), based in Folsom, California, is a leading plastic surgery provider that has provided more than 20,000 procedures since its inception in 2006. TNR dominates the Sacramento region with its high caliber of providers and staff. Dr. Kaufman, Dr. Davis, and Dr. Daly have a combined 38 years of experience. With a patient-centric approach, TNR provides a full array of surgical, laser, and non-surgical treatments in its state-of-the-art office. The modern facility has two AAAASF-accredited operating rooms and maintains an exemplary safety record.

Undisclosed Investor is a leading plastic surgery consolidator with locations across the United States. Westcove provided strategic guidance and industry expertise throughout this process. The partnership with TNR combines robust physician leadership, effective management, and operational expertise, that will strengthen Undisclosed Investor’s capabilities. Furthermore, this collaboration extends Undisclosed Investor’s footprint into Northern California and the surrounding areas.

Active Coverage Sectors
In addition to current and past clients, Westcove is actively covering 35+ healthcare service subsectors. Our team aims to be an educational resource to founder-operators, financial sponsors and third parties in each of these sub-sectors.

Axial Awards: Top 100 Lower-Middle-Market M&A Advisors for 2023

In October 2023, Axial announced that Westcove was featured in the Axial Advisor 100 for 2023, recognizing North America’s most highly regarded lower middle market sell-side M&A advisors. Axial surveyed more than 2,500 private equity firms, independent private equity sponsors, corporate strategic acquirers, and institutional-grade family offices, to identify the M&A advisors who earned the most trust and respect through individual deal quality, overall deal volume, and process effectiveness. Axial describes Axial Advisor 100 as “M&A advisors who have real industry domain knowledge and years of transaction execution experience. They blend data, relationships, and dealmaking experience to deliver high-quality client outcomes.”

Bruin Business 100

In June 2023, Westcove Partners received the Bruin Business 100 recognition from the UCLA Alumni Association. The recognition is to honor exceptional UCLA alumni embodying the core values of respect, accountability, integrity, and service. Westcove stood out from businesses globally because of its achievements in investment banking services as well as striving to make a continuous positive social impact in its local community and nationally. Since its inception, Westcove has established itself as a distinctive firm by carefully constructing a specialized and cohesive suite of services. We take pride in collaborating closely with our clients to truly comprehend their aspirations and formulate a strategic path to achieve their goals. This recognition was partly due to Westcove’s establishment of a $500,000 endowment dedicated to empowering underrepresented full-time MBA students in 2022. The endowment awarded its first recipient this year and provided substantial support to the recipient in pursuit of higher education and professional opportunities. Looking towards the future, Westcove will continue to actively pursue its mission of creating a positive social impact by allocating additional funds to impact investing initiatives.

The M&A Atlas Awards | Americas

The M&A Atlas Awards | Americas nominated Westcove for the Top Ranked Healthcare M&A Boutique Investment Bank for 2023. The M&A Atlas Awards recognizes the top-performing investment banks, private equity firms, and lenders, among other categories, across the M&A landscape. Additionally, Bank’s Apothecary merger with Terrapin Pharmacy and Ganse Pharmacy, portfolio companies of WindRose Health Investors was selected as the Pharmacy & Services Deal of the Year for 2023 by the M&A Atlas Awards. Westcove acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Bank’s Apothecary. The M&A Atlas Awards will be announced and awarded in late January 2024.

Firmwide Contributions

As part of our firmwide initiatives, Westcove allocates a portion of our transaction fees to invest in underrepresented businesses (or scholarships). Since its inception, Westcove has contributed a total of $1 million to support various organizations. In 2023, Westcove made contributions to the CAPS foundation, Drew School, and invested in Kodezi. Below is a brief overview of each organization and an update to our UCLA Anderson Endowment.

The CAPS Foundation

 

For over 26 years, Columbus Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery (“CAPS”) has been dedicated to providing compassionate care to Central Ohio breast cancer patients. Through their non-profit arm, The CAPS Foundation, hosts the annual CAPS For The Cure event, raising funds for breast cancer research and innovative programs. Sponsorship has been integral to their success, and CAPS For The Cure provides a unique opportunity for community members to actively contribute, with all net proceeds directly benefiting individuals fighting breast cancer.

Drew School

Westcove made a matching investment on behalf of Scott Schulkin, a Vice President at Westcove, to Drew School, an independent high school in San Francisco, CA. In early 2024, Drew School will recognize Scott as the school’s all-time leading men’s basketball scorer. Both Scott and Westcove felt it was important to commemorate this achievement by donating to the school to continue encouraging access to learning for students from underrepresented communities.

Kodezi

In 2023, Westcove invested in Kodezi. Kodezi is a cutting-edge AI development platform designed to elevate programming productivity to new heights. Kodezi offers a suite of features aimed at streamlining the coding process. The platform stands out by automating code debugging with detailed insights, optimizing code based on context facilitating seamless language conversion, and generating comprehensive documentation for codebases. Furthermore, Kodezi breaks barriers by enabling code generation from natural language instructions, providing a bridge between human language and programming logic to enhance the coding experience.

Westcove Partners Endowment Update

In January 2022, Westcove Partners announced that it established the Westcove Partners Endowment, a $500,000 endowment to be awarded to underrepresented full-time MBA students at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Westcove is proud to announce its first endowment recipient: Cassandra Ronquillo, who is a member of the UCLA Anderson Class of 2024 and previously was Director of Development of Major Gifts at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Summer Internship Program

Westcove continued its summer internship program and had two associate interns and one analyst intern in the summer of 2023. The program was ten weeks long and is in partnership with UCLA Anderson School of Management and USC Marshall School of Business.

In 2024, Westcove will continue its summer internship program with the expanded partnership with Claremont McKenna College. This partnership will enable Westcove to establish new relationships with education partners in Southern California and increase access to top internship candidates. Westcove will have one associate and two analyst interns from UCLA Anderson, USC Marshall, and Claremont Mckenna this summer.

Team Growth

Westcove remained active in hiring and developing talent internally in 2023. The Company fosters a culture of accountability and growth, which has helped it expand from three individuals in January 2021 to eight presently. Westcove is proud of the growth that each team member has shown and is pleased to announce the following updates to the team:

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