Standard Investment has sold Dierenartsen Groep Nederland to VetPartners, a portfolio company of BC Partners

Dierenartsen Groep Nederland

Dierenartsen Groep Nederland (DGN) is one of the best-known independent veterinary groups in the Netherlands. The growth of DGN, which has 26 clinics in 33 sites across the Netherlands, has been supported by private equity firm Standard Investment since 2015. DGN’s clinics have been providing high-quality veterinary care to pets and livestock in the Netherlands for more than two decades and have built a strong reputation for their expertise in animal health and commitment to providing compassionate care to patients. The objective of DGN was to bring together like-minded clinics that share the common values of putting people first whilst ensuring that vets retain the autonomy to make the best decisions for their patients. Under Standard Investment’s ownership, DGN’s clinics have benefited from knowledge pooling, collaboration, peer support and increased visibility.

The Deal

Lincoln International ran an efficient process, enabled by their deep sector knowledge and industry expertise, and provided critical strategic advice to ensure a successful transaction for all parties. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Our Perspective

Alex Masters, Managing Director in Lincoln’s Consumer Group, and Matthew Lee, Managing Director in Lincoln’s Healthcare Group, commented, “It has been a pleasure to work with the Standard Investment and DGN team to find the right home for the group that they have built. We believe that, in VetPartners, we have found the perfect home for DGN thanks to the complementary cultures and ambitions of the two groups.”

Standard Investment

Standard Investment is a hands-on private equity firm with 25 people and offices in Amsterdam, Brussels and Copenhagen that focuses on those situations where an active shareholder is valuable. These are situations of turnaround, corporate carve-out and also buy and builds, such as DGN. Standard Investment has made 63 investments and has completed 25 exits. There are 17 companies in Standard Investment’s portfolio with more than 4,000 employees and turnover of more than €1 billion. For more information, please visit www.standard.nl.

VetPartners

Established in November 2015, VetPartners is made up of some of the UK’s most respected and trusted small animal, equine, mixed and farm practices and animal healthcare companies. Led by vets, VetPartners has 11,000 employees working in more than 700 sites across Europe and from its headquarters in York, UK. Following European expansion in 2019, the group now has practices in Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

After being established as a safe home for veterinary practices, VetPartners diversified and now includes pet cremation services, an online retailer, a small animal veterinary nursing school, an equine veterinary nursing school, laboratories and a locum agency. Because no two practices are the same, VetPartners encourages its practices to embrace their independent spirit, while supporting them by investing in people, facilities, equipment and latest technology so they provide outstanding care for patients and an excellence service for clients.

VetPartners aims to be a great place to work, focusing on the development and wellbeing of its people. In 2022, VetPartners was ranked the UK’s number one company for senior leadership by Glassdoor. It was also awarded a 1Star accreditation from Best Companies, reflecting ‘very good’ levels of workplace engagement.

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