Kian and RF Announce Formation of US VisionMed Partners, a Nationwide Medically Focused Optometry Platform

Kian Capital Partners and RF Investment Partners, two lower-middle-market-focused private investment firms, are proud to announce the formation of US VisionMed Partners, a management services organization (MSO) supporting established, medically focused optometry practices nationwide.

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US VisionMed is one of the only platforms in the United States going beyond the bounds of routine and retail-centered offerings, focusing on serving patients who may require more complex optometric care. The platform’s locations serve patients with an emphasis on specialty and medical services and products such as exams, diagnostic testing, dry eye treatments, vision therapy and myopia management. Kian and RF invested in US VisionMed alongside Lakewood Healthcare Capital, a healthcare-focused investment firm, as well as the practitioners leading each location.

“We’ve gathered an outstanding group to form this leading-edge, unified MSO for the medically focused optometry space,” said US VisionMed Partners CEO Vance Wells. “US VisionMed offers a unique opportunity for independent optometrists to practice at the top of their licenses, offering advanced patient care while also reducing costs within the US healthcare system by identifying and treating serious conditions sooner. With Kian and RF’s support to execute on our M&A initiatives, the deep healthcare experience and knowledge base from Lakewood and the world-class practitioners driving the excellence of each location, this is a supercharged platform primed for success.”

Kian and RF will partner with US VisionMed management to thoughtfully source and execute additional practice acquisitions, building density in existing markets and expanding nationwide in complementary markets. Lakewood will focus on enabling organic expansion through its healthcare industry expertise and operational optimization support for practice leaders. The platform recently added a CFO and COO and will continue deliberately building out its executive team through a combination of new hires and M&A.

“Optometry is a highly fragmented healthcare segment that has not historically offered supportive consolidation opportunities for medically focused and specialty practices,” said Kian Partner Jordan Lee. “Our goal is for US VisionMed to support partner practices in offering enhanced care by strengthening operational efficiencies and creating a collaborative group of experienced colleagues that can help improve processes and, ultimately, patient outcomes across the platform. Partnering with RF and Lakewood will only elevate the platform’s success, and we are excited to be building this together.”

“We see tremendous potential to advance patient care and improve outcomes within the eyecare sector through our work alongside US VisionMed,” shared RF Managing Partner Peter Fidler. “In partnership with Kian and Lakewood, we are committed to helping the US VisionMed team grow strategically through the expansion of medical services, and by adding compatible practices to further enhance the platform’s footprint in key regions. With the addition of Lakewood's healthcare expertise and our past successes investing in and growing differentiated platforms across the healthcare sector, we aim to support an integrated team of optometry professionals dedicated to helping remove costs from the healthcare system by delivering high-quality, accessible care across the nation.”

US VisonMed is actively seeking partnerships with established practice groups or doctors of optometry looking for support in their next chapter of growth. For questions about the platform investment, please contact Kian Partner Jordan Lee at jlee@kiancapital.com or RF Director Tyler Katz at tkatz@rf-partners.com. For brokers or owners of practice groups of all sizes seeking a partner for growth, please reach out to US VisionMed Partners CEO Vance Wells at vwells@usvisionmedpartners.com.

US VisionMed Partners

US VisionMed Partners is a nationwide management service organization (MSO) supporting established, medically focused optometry practices. As one of the only optometry platforms focused on the specialty/medical segment, US VisionMed offers core products and services such as medical eye exams, standard and specialty lenses, frames, diagnostic testing and medical services, including dry eye treatments, vision therapy and myopia management.

About Kian Capital Partners

At Kian, we forge partnerships to ignite growth and build enduring value. Our goal is to provide flexible financial resources and additional operational horsepower to scale lower-middle-market businesses, realize aspirations and deliver long-term investment returns through genuine partnership. Proud to be recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for five consecutive years, Kian is a private investment firm with over $1 billion of capital under management and a focus on four core industry sectors: consumer, services, value-added distribution and specialty manufacturing. Our team of seasoned investors has over 100 years of collective experience providing transformational capital solutions and board-level strategic and operational guidance to founder/owner-operated businesses. To learn more, visit www.kiancapital.com.

About RF Investment Partners

RF Investment Partners is a relationship-first, private investment firm that provides innovative and flexible capital to family- and founder-owned businesses in the lower middle market. RF’s philosophy is to align economic value creation with the vision of its business owners and management teams to collaboratively drive transformational growth. Named on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for two consecutive years, RF supports companies across the software, healthcare services and business services sectors. With nearly $700 million of capital under management, RF has the capabilities to provide equity and debt capital to support strategic initiatives such as acquisition financing, growth capital investments, recapitalizations, refinancings and management buyouts. To learn more, please visit www.rf-partners.com.

About Lakewood Healthcare Capital

At Lakewood, we invest in and partner with healthcare organizations seeking a long-term partner for growth. We focus on most segments of the healthcare industry, including providers, service organizations and healthcare technology companies. Our partnership model reflects our deep understanding of the realities of US healthcare. With over 100 years of combined operating experience in the space, we understand the challenges of our portfolio companies and are committed to supporting them both financially and operationally. To learn more, visit www.lakewoodhc.com.

Disclaimer

This article does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any investments or securities, including any securities of Kian Capital (“Kian”), or any funds or accounts managed or advised by Kian in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation.

Any such offer or solicitation may be made only by means of the delivery of a confidential private offering memorandum (the “Memorandum”), which will contain material information not included herein regarding, among other things, information with respect to risks and potential conflicts of interest, and other offering and governance documents of any given fund or account (collectively with the Memorandum, the “Fund Documents”).

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