This article originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of EquiManagement. Sign up herefor a FREE subscription to EquiManagement’s quarterly digital or print magazine and any special issues.For a practice with a facility, at least three veterinarians, and earnings upward of $2 million, corporate consolidators will pay considerably more than the practice is worth when valued by traditional methods. | Arnd Bronkhorst/arnd.nl
Over the past decade, large corporate entities have been purchasing equine practices at an accelerating rate. The number of equine practitioners working for a national corporate chain of veterinary hospitals increased from 1% in 2016 to 4% in 2024, according to survey results from the 2016 AVMA/AAEP Equine Economic Report and the 2024 AVMA/AAEP Report on the Economic State of the Equine Veterinary Profession. Many of the largest equine hospitals are now corporately owned.
The Corporate Consolidator Model
In the equine sector, corporate rollups began in 2016 with the formation of Mixed Animal Veterinary Associates North America (MAVANA), when 21 mixed, companion, and equine practices merged into one entity. At MAVANA, 95% of the shareholders were practicing veterinarians, and most sold their practices for a portion of cash and a portion of equity in the new corporation. In January 2018, the nation’s oldest equine hospital, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, joined MAVANA. In 2020, PetVet Care Centers bought MAVANA, a group of about 35 equine and mixed practices, for an undisclosed price.
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