LOS ANGELES (Dec. 9th, 2022) — B. Riley Securities, Inc., a leading full-service investment bank, is pleased to announce it served as financial advisor in the successful recapitalization of Florida Retina Institute (“FRI”), the largest independent vitreoretinal services provider in Florida, by Retina Consultants of America (“RCA”), a comprehensive physician management services organization. RCA is a portfolio company of healthcare-focused middle market private equity firm, Webster Equity Partners.
In connection with the transaction, FRI’s 13 board-certified physicians and 19 clinic locations have joined RCA’s national network of leading retina specialists. The new partnership expands FRI and RCA’s footprint and influence in innovative retina research in Florida and across the U.S. FRI will maintain ownership of the real estate of its 19 clinical locations.
For more than 40 years, FRI has been recognized for excellence in the treatment of vitreoretinal diseases and surgery throughout Central Florida, North Florida and Southeast Georgia. FRI offers the full spectrum of vitreoretinal care to patients of all ages including exams, injections, imaging, office-lasers, surgery, and the opportunity to participate in FRI’s cutting-edge clinical trials. FRI’s experienced physicians are consistently recognized as best-in-class in peer-nominated regional and national healthcare provider rankings.
“The physicians of Florida Retina Institute are extremely excited about the opportunity to partner with Retina Consultants of America, which we recognize as the largest and most impressive collection of retina specialists in the world,” said Elias C. Mavrofrides, M.D., Board-Certified, Fellowship Trained Vitreoretinal Specialist at Florida Retina Institute. “FRI has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past several years, and RCA will elevate our ability to enhance our clinical research programs, invest in our infrastructure allowing for continued growth and improved patients access, ensure early availability of all clinical advancements, and facilitate collaboration amongst an incredible collection of retina specialists. We are truly honored to work with RCA to bring these amazing benefits to our communities.”
“We were pleased to work with Florida Retina Institute in support of its new partnership with RCA to expand infrastructure for improved patient access and cutting-edge clinical research programs across Central and Northern Florida. FRI’s recapitalization with RCA ensures the sustainability and enhancement of the full continuum of clinical services in the communities they serve,” said James Metcalf, Senior Managing Director with B. Riley Securities Healthcare and Life Sciences team. “This represents our team’s first completed transaction since joining B. Riley. We look forward to continued growth and success in partnership with our colleagues across the firm.”
B. Riley Securities has substantially expanded its Healthcare & Life Sciences team which provides a full suite of investment banking services to healthcare companies across the care continuum. Areas of specialization include vision care; ophthalmology; retina; optometry; single- and multiple-specialty physician practices; outsourced provider services; payor services; behavioral health; digital health; outsourced pharmaceutical services; specialty pharmaceuticals; and medical products/devices.
About Florida Retina Institute
Founded in 1979, Florida Retina Institute includes a renowned team of doctors dedicated to providing comprehensive patient care in vitreous and retinal ophthalmology from 19 locations throughout Central Florida, North Florida, and Southeast Georgia. FRI retina services include retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, laser procedures, macular and vitreous surgery, pediatric retina and complex retinal conditions. Applying the latest advances and the most sophisticated methods in vitreoretinal diseases and surgery, FRI’s retina specialists are focused on tailoring individual treatment plans to each patient. For more information visit www.floridaretinainstitute.com.
About Retina Consultants of America
Retina Consultants of America (RCA) is the only network of leading retina specialists focused solely on retinal care with the mission of saving sight and improving patient lives through innovation and the highest quality care. Created by Webster Equity Partners, LLC in 2020 and headquartered in Southlake, Texas, RCA has more than 215 physicians, operating in 19 states, including: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington. RCA’s physician-led practices use their collective voice to shape the future of retinal treatments and share operational and medical knowledge that ensures a high standard of care for patients and practices. Through RCA’s physician-centered practice management model, physicians continue to drive state-of-the-art clinical care and practice culture, while benefitting from the business expertise, resources and shared best practices available through RCA. For more information, visit www.retinaconsultantsofamerica.com.
About B. Riley Securities, Inc.
B. Riley Securities provides a full suite of investment banking, corporate finance, advisory, research, and sales and trading services. Investment banking services include initial, secondary and follow-on offerings, institutional private placements, merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory, SPACs, corporate restructuring and recapitalization. B. Riley is nationally recognized and highly ranked for its proprietary small-cap equity research. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of B. Riley Financial. For more information, visit brileysecurities.com.
For more information about the Florida Retina Institute transaction, please contact James Metcalf at [email protected] or 917-620-1161.