Northwest Eye is one of the largest specialty care providers in the upper Midwest, providing leading comprehensive ophthalmic services across eight clinical locations. The partnership will accelerate their growth trajectory and expand their footprint in the upper Midwest. Click here to read the full press release.
Dr. Timothy J. Ehlen: Northwest Eye Clinic is an established, well-respected ophthalmology practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We’ve been around for 45 years, started by two doctors, and we’ve grown to over 19. We are able to see nearly 100,000 patients a year. Looking for that next step, just because of our size, became a challenge.
John S. Berestka: When we first started this process, we were not all on board. It was a very contentious 5-4 vote among the partners to even look at private equity. Cascade came in and got us to realize what private equity was about. We had a lot of misperceptions. And as the process moved forward, it transformed into a 9-0 unanimous vote.
Joen Condon: Anytime an organization goes through a transaction like this, it needs to be more than just the actual transaction itself. Cascade, and Raj and Alex both, really helped us pinpoint a direction and then helped us achieve that direction.
Dr. Timothy J. Ehlen: It’s really easy to tell them that they exceeded our expectations every step of the way. Cascade Partners works with me and my team extremely effectively. They did a really good job of getting to know each and every one of our partners. And they were able to use that to nurture very open, comfortable decision-making.
John S. Berestka: Cascade Partners will come in and first evaluate your situation to make sure that private equity is even the right way to go. They’re able to look at what your strengths are, your weaknesses are. They’ll be frank and honest, and they’re able to bring a lot of value both in terms of getting you to the process and then through the process.
Joen Condon: Cascade really became part of our team. We had very candid discussions. I will say there were times where both Alex and Raj talked me off of cliffs and helped me refocus on what we needed to do and why we were doing it. My advice is to really consider using an investment banker.