Transaction is Edgemont’s second dental transaction in the past four months

NEW YORK, NY – April 11, 2022 – Edgemont Partners (“Edgemont”), a premier healthcare investment bank and a leading M&A and capital raising advisor exclusively serving healthcare companies, announced that it acted as financial advisor to Blue Sea Capital (“Blue Sea”), a leading growth-oriented private equity firm, on its strategic partnership with SIMKO Specialty Dental and its affiliated practices (“SIMKO”), a well-respected and nationally recognized orthodontics and pediatric dentistry group, to form Specialty Smile Partners LLC (“Specialty Smile Partners”). Blue Sea has completed a substantial growth investment in Specialty Smile Partners, a management services organization formed to administratively support SIMKO’s continued growth in its markets and the completion of future affiliations with leading orthodontics and pediatric dentistry providers in existing and new geographies. Edgemont’s deal team was led by Managing Director Brett Skolnik.

As part of the transaction, the doctors and management team of SIMKO will maintain their current roles within their respective organizations while also helping to lead the Specialty Smile Partners platform. SIMKO and its affiliated practices will continue to operate under their respective brands in existing markets.

Scott Ames, Partner at Blue Sea, commented, “After nearly two years diligently landscaping the specialty dental market and developing a strong relationship with the SIMKO team, we are thrilled to have formalized our partnership with SIMKO as the foundational group in Specialty Smile Partners. Our investment solidifies a shared vision with SIMKO’s management and clinical leadership to strategically position Specialty Smile Partners as a leader within the orthodontics and pediatric dentistry specialties. This affiliation will support accelerated growth as we seek to add other like-minded doctors in the fragmented specialty dental sector.”

Added Miller Norman, Vice President at Blue Sea, “We are excited to invest in Specialty Smile Partners, in turn supporting SIMKO and its affiliated practices, a well-regarded orthodontics and pediatric dental group known for its clinical excellence and patient care. We remain committed to supporting existing and future doctors in providing best-in-class orthodontic and pediatric dental services, with administrative and business support from a world-class, doctor-led organization that will help them focus on clinical excellence while recognizing the benefits of scale that come with being a part of one of the largest specialty dental platforms in the U.S.”

Blue Sea Capital’s partnership with SIMKO Specialty Dental marks Edgemont’s fifteenth clinical services transaction in the last three years. Other recent transactions include the sale of Amazing Dental to Great Expressions, the sale of Michigan Institute of Urology to Solaris Health, the sale of Tennessee Retina to Retina Consultants of America, the growth investment in Mindful Health Solutions by Norwest Venture Partners, the recapitalization of Quigley Eye Specialists by New Harbor Capital, the sale of Arizona Dermatology to West Dermatology, and the sale of Spine Nevada to HopCo. Edgemont is the leading investment banking firm advising independent physician practices and private equity-backed clinical services companies on strategic alternatives, including mergers, acquisitions, sales, and private equity recapitalizations. Edgemont’s Clinical Services group serves practices across a broad range of office-based and hospital specialties, including outpatient mental health services, orthopedics / musculoskeletal care, cardiovascular care, dental, dermatology, ophthalmology, urology, urgent care, primary care, psychiatry, gastroenterology, rheumatology, pain management, women’s health / OB-GYN, and fertility as well as emergency medicine, hospitalist medicine, anesthesiology, and radiology.

About Specialty Smile Partners

Specialty Smile Partners is a leading management services organization serving the orthodontics and pediatric dentistry sectors. Specialty Smile Partners provides world-class practice management solutions to a network of nationally renowned orthodontists and pedodontists across the United States, through a comprehensive set of business support functions, including billing and collections, marketing, financial and accounting services, benefits and payroll management, information technology, data analytics, vendor management and legal.

About SIMKO Specialty Dental

Founded in 2017 as a partnership between Kristo Orthodontics and Smiles in Motion, SIMKO Specialty Dental and its affiliated practices are together the leading orthodontic and pediatric dentistry practice group in the Midwest, boasting 35 high-quality clinics across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado, with the most advanced technology available to offer patients a full suite of orthodontic and pediatric dental services and treatments. For more information, please visit www.simkospecialtydental.com.

About Blue Sea Capital

Blue Sea Capital is a private equity firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida, that invests in growth-oriented lower middle market companies. The firm has more than $750 million in assets under management and invests across three industry verticals: aerospace & defense, healthcare and industrial growth. Blue Sea Capital’s strategy is to partner with talented managers and differentiated companies, typically as the first or second institutional investor, and deliver strategic and operational value-add that drives growth acceleration, industry outperformance and business transformation. For more information, please visit www.blueseacapital.com.

About Edgemont Partners

Now in its 21^st year, Edgemont ranks among the most active and best-performing independent healthcare M&A and financial advisors in the U.S. We focus solely on providing expert strategic advice and transaction execution to healthcare and life sciences companies, bringing a steadfast commitment to our clients, driven always to prioritize their best interests. Edgemont’s principals have executed 185+ transactions with an aggregate value of $80 billion+.

For more information on Edgemont and how we can best serve you, contact Ben Hughes at +1 (646) 632-3967, or visit our website at www.edgemont.com.

Investment banking services are provided by Edgemont Capital Partners, LP, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.