Houlihan Lokey Advises Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island and Island Eye Surgicenter

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island (OCLI) has entered into a strategic relationship with Blue Sea Capital LLC (Blue Sea). Blue Sea has made an investment in Spectrum Vision Partners, a management services organization formed to administratively support OCLI’s continued growth. The transaction closed on November 17, 2017.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Westbury, New York, OCLI is one of the leading ophthalmology practices in the U.S., comprised of over 400 employees, a senior management team with over 170 years of combined industry experience, and 33 highly skilled eye surgeons, from each major subspecialty of eye care, known for their clinical expertise, innovative care, and compassionate bedside manner.

In addition to 33 MDs, OCLI’s professional team includes four Doctors of Optometry, three Physician Assistants, and one Aesthetician. OCLI’s nationally respected physician group includes two past Presidents of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Editor in Chief of two leading ophthalmic publications. The group owns patents on nine surgical instruments, has won over 170 awards, and has been featured in more than 3,000 publications and 60 research studies.

Many members of the team are recognized for innovative medical achievements, including performing the first refractive surgery in the world, being the first to implant the Symfony Multifocal IOL, and performing the first glaucoma implant procedure with the iStent. OCLI operates a network of 15 modern, state-of-the-art locations across Nassau and Suffolk counties, including brand new ophthalmic surgery center Island Eye Surgicenter (IES), which has six operating rooms equipped with the most advanced surgical and diagnostic instruments and is able to perform over 20,000 procedures per year. The group offers comprehensive eye care services, including refractive surgery, neuro ophthalmology, optometry, and oculoplastics, as well as treatment for cataracts, corneal disease, retinal disease, and glaucoma.

Since 1999, IES’s mission has been to provide excellence in surgical eye care, and it remains a “Center of Excellence.” The physicians of IES are some of the most prominent medical professionals in the nation. They contribute to the development of the latest ophthalmic advancements and surgical techniques and lecture on a range of subjects pertaining to surgical eye care throughout the United States and around the world. IES enjoys a national reputation within the ophthalmic ASC industry. The new IES (completed in March 2017 and located in Westbury, New York) is a Medicare Certified Ambulatory Surgery Center licensed by New York state. It is also a New York state licensed tissue transplantation facility. The center is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), a national nonprofit organization ensuring that ambulatory facilities maintain the highest standards of safety and medical care.

Spectrum Vision Partners is a leading management services organization serving the ophthalmology sector. Spectrum Vision Partners has over 400 employees providing world-class practice management solutions to a network of nationally renowned multispecialty ophthalmologists in the tri-state region. Spectrum Vision Partners provides a comprehensive set of business support functions, including billing and collections, marketing, financial and accounting services, benefits and payroll management, and information technology.

Blue Sea is a private equity firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida, that invests in growth-oriented, lower middle-market companies valued at up to $200 million. The firm has $327 million in assets under management and invests across three industry verticals: aerospace and defense, healthcare, and industrial growth. Blue Sea'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.

This transaction further strengthens Houlihan Lokey’s leadership position in the physician practice management and multisite healthcare sectors, where Houlihan Lokey has advised on approximately $8 billion in transaction enterprise value over the last three years. This transaction also further strengthens Houlihan Lokey’s leadership position in the U.S. vision care sector, becoming its second  transaction in 2017 and its sixth transaction in the space. Houlihan Lokey's Healthcare Group is among the largest dedicated healthcare investment banking groups in the country. In 2016, the group closed 41 transactions and was ranked the No. 1 advisor for all U.S. healthcare M&A transactions by Thomson Reuters. Houlihan Lokey's Healthcare Group has closed more than 300 M&A healthcare transactions since inception.