Altima Dental Centres

In 1993, Altima’s two cofounding doctors opened their first dental office and, over the next two decades, grew the business to 45 offices across six Canadian provinces. Altima had an impressive network of dental offices with strong doctor and clinical leadership, but it lacked the operating infrastructure and resources to accelerate its growth trajectory. In 2016, Altima’s cofounders sought a partner to help the business continue its growth plan and hired an investment bank with which Sentinel has a strong relationship. In the sale process, Sentinel was selected as the buyer due to our significant experience investing in the dental industry, the strong chemistry we developed with management, and our proven experience investing in Canada.

To elevate Altima’s business processes and supplement its management team to enable outsized and sustained growth. We expected this to create a higher-value company and further cement Altima as a market leader in Canada

Built a Complete Executive Team and Growing Support Staff: We made considerable investments in Altima’s central infrastructure to support rapid growth, with emphasis on its executives and support staff in the finance, operations, and business development departments. Sentinel worked closely with the cofounders to triple Altima’s corporate headcount over our investment horizon, including the addition of a COO, CFO, and VP of Corporate Development.

Implemented Systems for Growth: To manage a footprint of scale, Altima needed advanced systems. Together with management, we worked to implement comprehensive business technology solutions to track real-time performance and to enhance Altima’s executives’ ability to manage a rapidly expanding footprint. Due to our extensive add-on acquisition experience in the dental services industry, we were also able to bolster Altima’s M&A capabilities by implementing a systematic approach to deal sourcing, diligence, and execution.

Accelerated M&A Growth: During our ownership, we more than doubled Altima’s clinic base, from 45 to 117; grew revenue almost fourfold; and emerged as the third-largest DSO in Canada. These results came from a mix of one- and two-office acquisitions and larger platforms that were highly strategic to Altima’s footprint and strategy.

Over our six-year ownership, we helped Altima’s cofounders develop an industry-leading DSO capable of expanding its service footprint. In 2022, having achieved our investment objectives, Altima merged with 123Dentist Corporation, a strategic buyer backed by KKR; KKR portfolio company Heartland Dental, the leading DSO in the United States; and Peloton Capital Management. Sentinel continues as an investor in 123Dentist.