Optometry Practice M&A Multiples Report 2026
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Optometry Practice M&A Multiples Report 2026: Valuation Benchmarks by Size and Segment

A CT Acquisitions research brief. Observed transaction-multiple ranges compiled from public filings, industry surveys, and third-party transaction databases. Not advice, not appraisal, not investment, legal, tax, or financial advice. Not a solicitation. Not a substitute for a quality-of-earnings review or formal business valuation.

Optometry Practice M&A Multiples 2026 operate in three distinct bands anchored to earnings basis and scale. Sub-$500K SDE single-OD practices trade at approximately 2.5x to 4.5x Seller Discretionary Earnings on the individual-buyer market. Mature multi-OD groups with $1M to $3M in adjusted EBITDA trade at approximately 6x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA as PE-backed platforms execute tuck-in strategy. Platform-scale targets above $10M adjusted EBITDA trade at approximately 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA, compressed from a 12x to 15x peak observed during the 2020 to 2022 low-rate window. This report anchors every band to attributed sources, explicit earnings basis, and Federal Reserve H.15 rate context.

Report scope: Independent optometry practices, multi-OD groups, PE-backed vision platforms, sublease-in-retail (Costco/Walmart/Target) locations, and specialty (dry-eye/myopia/scleral) practices transacting in the United States between calendar year 2019 and the first half of 2026.

Report date: July 1, 2026. Federal Reserve H.15 selected interest-rate context: the effective federal funds rate averaged 4.33% in June 2026 per the Federal Reserve statistical release, down from a 2023 peak of 5.33% but well above the 0.08% floor of April 2020. Deal financing costs remain a first-order valuation variable at the platform band.

Executive summary

Optometry Practice M&A Multiples Report 2026
Optometry Practice M&A Multiples Report 2026 (CT Acquisitions, July 1, 2026)
  • Sub-$500K SDE single-OD practices consistently traded in an observed range of roughly 2.5x to 4.5x Seller Discretionary Earnings across the BizBuySell, IBBA, and BizComps datasets covering 2019 through Q1 2026, with practices below $250K SDE clustering at the lower end. This is a distinct earnings basis and must not be blended with EBITDA-based figures cited elsewhere in this report.
  • Mature multi-OD groups producing $1M to $3M in adjusted EBITDA transacted in an observed range of roughly 6.0x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA in 2024 and 2025 based on Provident Healthcare Partners, Skytale Group, and Cleinman Performance Partners advisor commentary and PitchBook-tracked healthcare services deals.
  • Platform-scale targets producing $10M or more in adjusted EBITDA transacted in an observed range of roughly 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA in the 2024 to Q1 2026 window, compressed from a 12x to 15x range observed during the 2020 to 2022 low-rate peak.
  • The disclosed August 2019 acquisition of MyEyeDr by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division was widely reported at approximately $2.7 billion enterprise value. Reuters and PE Hub reporting cited a purchase-price multiple well above 15x adjusted EBITDA at signing, which set the ceiling reference for the modern optometry consolidation cycle.
  • The disclosed 2019 acquisition of Eyecare Partners by Partners Group was reported at more than $2 billion enterprise value per Partners Group’s own public deal disclosure and PitchBook records. It is the second-largest disclosed private optometry consolidator transaction on record.
  • National Vision Holdings (NASDAQ: EYE), the public parent of America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses and Eyeglass World, traded at an enterprise-value-to-forward-EBITDA multiple that ranged from roughly 20x at the 2021 peak to approximately 6x to 8x at the 2023 to 2024 trough per company 10-K and 10-Q filings and consensus sell-side estimates. Public retail-optical is a distinct segment from independent optometry M&A and is labeled as ceiling reference only.
  • Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE: WRBY) priced its September 2021 direct listing at a reference price of $40 per share, implying a fully diluted enterprise value above $6 billion at listing per the company’s S-1 and initial trading, translating to an EV-to-revenue multiple above 10x on 2021 revenue. This is a DTC omnichannel optical ceiling reference, not comparable to independent optometry practice M&A.
  • PE-backed platform consolidators (MyEyeDr, Eyecare Partners, AEG Vision, Vision Innovation Partners, Total Vision, Keplr Vision, ClearVision Optical) drove the majority of $50M+ platform-level deal volume in vision from 2019 through 2025 per PitchBook and PE Hub reporting.
  • Rollover equity in PE tuck-in transactions in this vertical typically ran 10% to 30% of transaction value for selling ODs, with founder rollover in platform transactions running 20% to 40% based on Provident Healthcare Partners and Skytale Group commentary published in Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business coverage.
  • Rate environment remains the first-order sensitivity variable at the platform band. The Federal Reserve H.15 effective fed funds rate at 4.33% in June 2026 sustained compression relative to the 2020 to 2022 average of roughly 0.71% that supported peak multiples. Any meaningful further easing would likely produce upward pressure on the platform band per typical LBO model sensitivity to debt cost.

Key findings

  1. Bimodal market structure. The optometry M&A market is bimodal: independent single-OD practices trade on SDE (Seller Discretionary Earnings) to individual buyers and small holding companies, while multi-OD groups and PE-backed platforms trade on adjusted EBITDA. Blending these earnings bases produces misleading multiples. BizBuySell’s Insight Reports and IBBA’s Market Pulse consistently keep the two earnings bases separated.
  2. Median single-OD SDE band. Median asking-price multiples for optometry practices listed on BizBuySell in 2023 through 2025 tracked in the 2.5x to 4.0x SDE range according to BizBuySell Insight Reports covering the healthcare services category. Practices with real estate included traded modestly higher. Practices with heavy managed vision care (MVC) dependency traded modestly lower.
  3. Multi-OD group premium. Multi-OD groups with $500K to $1M in adjusted EBITDA typically traded at 5x to 7x adjusted EBITDA per Provident Healthcare Partners and Cleinman Performance Partners commentary published in Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business from 2022 through 2025. The premium over single-OD SDE multiples reflects reduced owner-OD dependency, scaled dispensary economics, and platform tuck-in strategic value.
  4. PE-platform tuck-in band. Tuck-in acquisitions by PE-backed platforms into $1M to $3M adjusted EBITDA targets consistently priced in the 6x to 9x adjusted EBITDA range from 2023 through Q1 2026 based on advisor commentary published by Skytale Group, Provident Healthcare Partners, and Menke Group. The upper end of this range typically requires a mix of cash and rollover equity into the platform.
  5. Platform ceiling compression. Platform-scale transactions above $10M adjusted EBITDA compressed from a 12x to 15x observed range in the 2020 to 2022 low-rate window to a 10x to 14x range in 2024 through Q1 2026 as debt costs rose. This mirrors the compression observed in dental services organizations (DSOs) and veterinary consolidators over the same window per PitchBook healthcare services coverage.
  6. MyEyeDr scale reference. The Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking acquisition of MyEyeDr from Altas Partners in August 2019 was disclosed at approximately $2.7 billion enterprise value per Reuters, PE Hub, and the Wall Street Journal. It stands as the largest publicly reported private optometry consolidator transaction on record.
  7. Eyecare Partners scale reference. Partners Group’s 2019 acquisition of Eyecare Partners from FFL Partners was disclosed at more than $2 billion per Partners Group press release and PitchBook records. Eyecare Partners’ subsequent secured-loan trading history was reported in Bloomberg and Reuters coverage across 2023 and 2024.
  8. National Vision public ceiling. National Vision Holdings (NASDAQ: EYE) reported 2024 full-year net revenue of $1.82 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $88.4 million per its 2024 annual report on Form 10-K. Its stock traded down more than 70% from the 2021 peak to 2024 trough per public price data on Yahoo Finance and Nasdaq. This retail-optical ceiling is labeled distinctly from independent optometry M&A.
  9. Warby Parker ceiling. Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE: WRBY) reported 2024 full-year net revenue of $771.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $54.7 million per its 2024 annual report on Form 10-K. Its DTC omnichannel model prices on revenue and gross-profit multiples rather than EBITDA multiples typical of independent optometry M&A.
  10. CPOM state framework matters. State Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) frameworks constrain non-OD ownership of clinical practice in most states, forcing PE consolidators into management services organization (MSO) structures where the professional entity is owned by a licensed OD and services are contracted from the PE-owned MSO. This structural overhead affects both diligence complexity and buyer universe.
  11. VSP and EyeMed concentration. Managed vision care in the United States is dominated by VSP Vision Care and EyeMed Vision Care. Practices with more than 60% MVC-dependent revenue typically trade at a modest discount to comparable practices with a more balanced payer mix, according to Cleinman Performance Partners’ published benchmark commentary.
  12. Luxottica frame supply concentration. EssilorLuxottica dominates frame supply, laboratory processing, and vision-plan coverage (EyeMed is owned by EssilorLuxottica). Frame-supplier concentration risk is a common diligence flag but rarely produces meaningful multiple compression at the tuck-in level.
  13. Sublease-in-retail structural discount. Sublease-in-retail optometry (Costco Optical, Walmart Vision Center, Target Optical) operates under host-retailer traffic dependency. Standalone practice equivalents typically transact at modest premiums to sublease-in-retail comparables per Vision Monday reporting and advisor commentary, though this varies materially by location economics.
  14. Specialty premium. Dry-eye specialty practices, myopia-management practices, and scleral-lens/specialty-contact practices with defensible clinical differentiation typically command modest multiple premiums to general-optometry comparables per Cleinman Performance Partners commentary and Review of Optometric Business benchmark reports.
  15. Deal-structure complexity. Cash-at-close for platform-tuck-in transactions in 2024 to Q1 2026 typically ran 60% to 80% of total consideration per Provident Healthcare Partners and Skytale Group commentary, with the balance in seller notes, earnouts contingent on OD retention and post-close production, and rollover equity into the platform.
  16. NAICS 621320 population. The US Census Bureau County Business Patterns dataset lists approximately 27,000 establishments under NAICS 621320 (Offices of Optometrists) as of the most recent published year, representing the addressable universe from which single-OD and multi-OD acquisition targets are drawn. Kentley Insights market reports based on that Census foundation size the segment at roughly $19 billion in annual receipts. The addressable buyer universe for PE-backed platforms remains large in absolute terms and modestly consolidated in percentage terms, which is why platform activity has continued despite rate compression.
  17. AOA income survey anchor. The American Optometric Association annual practice management survey and income survey are the canonical anchor points for owner-OD compensation normalization in QoE work. Median owner-OD net income figures published in the AOA survey are used across advisor firms as the starting point for market-rate replacement salary in adjusted-EBITDA add-back normalization, with regional adjustments applied on top.
  18. Vision Council industry survey context. The Vision Council’s annual industry survey provides the canonical top-down anchor for total US vision-care spend across the exam, dispensary, contact lens, and specialty channels. Independent optometry captures a mid-single-digit-to-low-double-digit share of that total spend, with the balance flowing through retail-optical (National Vision, Warby Parker, LensCrafters/Pearle under EssilorLuxottica), sublease-in-retail (Costco, Walmart, Target), and online frame/contact channels (1-800-Contacts, Zenni, Warby Parker DTC).
  19. PECAA and IDOC structural role. PECAA Group (part of Vision Source and now consolidated under the AEG-adjacent buying-group ecosystem) and IDOC (independent doctors of optometric care) function as buying-group and practice-management-consulting anchors for a large share of the independent optometry channel. Practices with active buying-group affiliation typically report modestly higher dispensary margins on frame and lens purchases, which supports adjusted EBITDA margin at the tuck-in evaluation point.

Multiples by size band

The single most important discipline in optometry M&A benchmarking is separating SDE-based small-practice comps from EBITDA-based mid-market comps. The bands below observe that discipline strictly. The table summarizes the spine; the sections that follow provide the narrative context for each band.

Size band Earnings basis Observed multiple range Buyer universe Primary source anchors
Sub-$500K SDE (single-OD) SDE 2.5x to 4.5x SDE Individual ODs (SBA 7(a)), small holding companies BizBuySell Insight Reports, IBBA Market Pulse, BizComps NAICS 621320
$500K to $1M SDE (crossover) SDE or adjusted EBITDA 3.5x to 5.5x SDE or 4.5x to 6.5x adjusted EBITDA Individual ODs, regional multi-OD groups, PE tuck-in Cleinman Performance Partners, Skytale Group, BizBuySell
$1M to $3M adjusted EBITDA (LMM multi-OD) Adjusted EBITDA 6x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA PE-backed platform tuck-in, regional multi-OD Provident Healthcare Partners, Skytale Group, Menke Group
$3M to $10M adjusted EBITDA (regional group) Adjusted EBITDA 7.5x to 10x adjusted EBITDA PE-backed strategics, healthcare services PE funds Provident Healthcare Partners, Skytale Group, PitchBook
$10M+ adjusted EBITDA (platform) Adjusted EBITDA 10x to 14x (2024 to Q1 2026); 12x to 15x (2020 to 2022 peak) Large-cap PE, strategic buyers, IPO path Reuters, PE Hub, WSJ, PitchBook, Partners Group disclosures

Sub-$500K SDE (single-OD owner-operator)

Observed range: approximately 2.5x to 4.5x SDE.

Practices in this band are single-OD, owner-dependent operations, typically producing $150K to $500K in Seller Discretionary Earnings after reasonable add-backs for owner compensation, personal auto, personal insurance, and non-recurring expenses. The buyer universe is dominated by individual ODs (often first-time buyers using SBA 7(a) financing), small local holding companies, and occasionally regional multi-OD groups looking for tuck-ins.

BizBuySell Insight Reports for the healthcare category from 2023 through Q1 2026 consistently placed median asking-price multiples for listed optometry practices in the 2.5x to 3.5x SDE range, with closed-transaction multiples running modestly below asking. IBBA’s Market Pulse survey of Main Street business intermediaries reported healthcare practice multiples in a similar band across the same window, though IBBA aggregates healthcare and does not always break out optometry specifically.

Real estate ownership included in the transaction typically adds 0.25x to 0.75x to the effective multiple depending on market rents and location quality. Practices below $250K SDE cluster at the low end of the range because SBA lender appetite thins and the effective buyer universe narrows to individual ODs.

MVC-heavy practices (more than 60% VSP/EyeMed revenue) typically trade at the low end of the band due to payer-mix concentration risk. Practices with strong dispensary revenue mix (more than 50% optical) trade at the upper end because dispensary margin scales with ownership savvy in a way that pure exam revenue does not.

At this band, quality-of-earnings work is usually a lighter-touch review scoped to two-year trailing normalization rather than a full deep-dive QoE report. Typical add-back normalization at this scale covers owner compensation to a market-rate replacement salary based on the AOA income survey with regional adjustment, personal auto and personal insurance items running through the practice, non-recurring capital equipment purchases (a new OCT typically runs $30K to $70K, a retinal camera $20K to $50K, and dry-eye devices such as IPL/RF platforms $50K to $120K), continuing-education travel treated as owner benefit, and family-payroll additions that fall away post-close. Buyer conservatism in this band routinely trims 20% to 30% off seller-proposed add-backs during a five-day-review-cycle diligence process.

SBA 7(a) financing is the modal capital stack for buyers in this band. Preferred SBA lenders such as Live Oak Bank, Byline Bank, Huntington National Bank, Newtek, Celtic Bank, and Enterprise Bank & Trust have all published healthcare-services acquisition financing programs that cover optometry practices explicitly. SBA 7(a) loan structure typically covers 85% to 90% of the purchase price with a seller note of 5% to 15% required to fill the down-payment gap. See our SBA Acquisition Lender Rankings 2026 for detailed lender selection framework.

$500K to $1M SDE (mature single-OD or small multi-OD)

Observed range: approximately 3.5x to 5.5x SDE for SDE-based transactions, or approximately 4.5x to 6.5x adjusted EBITDA where the buyer underwrites on EBITDA with a market-rate replacement OD salary.

This is the crossover band. Individual ODs still bid, but PE-backed platforms and regional multi-OD groups begin to underwrite on adjusted EBITDA using a market-rate replacement salary for the selling OD (typically $130K to $180K base plus production bonus depending on region and specialty). The EBITDA underwrite typically produces a higher effective purchase price than an SDE underwrite by an individual buyer, particularly when strategic tuck-in value is present.

Deal structure at this band typically includes 70% to 85% cash at close, a seller note of 10% to 20%, and either an earnout tied to post-close production or a modest rollover equity component in platform tuck-ins. Cleinman Performance Partners’ published guidance and Skytale Group’s advisor commentary in Vision Monday consistently describe this band as the most competitive segment of the optometry M&A market because both buyer universes overlap.

Practices approaching a transition from this band should evaluate whether a modest 12 to 24 month operational-improvement window can push adjusted EBITDA above the $1M threshold, which brings the practice cleanly into the PE tuck-in band described immediately below. The key operational levers at this scale are: converting owner-OD clinical hours into strategic-leadership hours by adding an associate OD, extracting real estate into a related entity leased at market rate, expanding the dispensary mix through frame-board curation and premium-lens process discipline, and adding medical-optometry billing capability (dry-eye devices, diabetic retinal exams, glaucoma monitoring) to diversify away from managed-vision-care concentration.

$1M to $3M SDE or adjusted EBITDA (LMM multi-OD, PE tuck-in target)

Observed range: approximately 6x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA.

At this scale, the practice is almost always a multi-OD group with two to six associate ODs plus one or two owner-ODs. Individual buyers are effectively priced out. The buyer universe is regional multi-OD groups and, most importantly, PE-backed consolidator platforms executing tuck-in strategy.

Provident Healthcare Partners’ published commentary on optometry M&A across 2023 through 2025 described a tuck-in band of 6x to 9x adjusted EBITDA for practices producing $1M to $3M in adjusted EBITDA, with the upper end typically requiring meaningful rollover equity into the platform. Skytale Group’s vision M&A commentary described a similar band. Menke Group’s optometry practice-transition commentary described the same range from an advisory perspective.

Adjusted EBITDA at this scale is scrutinized in a quality-of-earnings review that typically covers 12 to 24 months trailing and includes normalization for owner-OD compensation, non-recurring capital equipment purchases (OCT, retinal cameras, dry-eye devices), real estate rents at market versus related-party rates, and MVC-plan rebate accruals. Buyers routinely reject 20% to 40% of self-reported add-backs during diligence. See our Quality of Earnings Provider Comparison for provider selection framework.

R&W insurance becomes standard at this band. R&W policies for optometry tuck-ins in the $1M to $3M adjusted EBITDA range typically feature retention of 0.5% to 1.0% of enterprise value and premium of 2.5% to 4.0% of policy limit. Carrier options at this deal size include AIG, Chubb, Beazley, Euclid Transactional, and BRP-affiliated carriers. See our R&W Insurance Carrier Comparison 2026 for carrier selection detail.

Earnout structure at this band is meaningful in absolute-dollar terms. Common earnout constructs include a two-year to three-year post-close production earnout tied to selling-OD collections against a defined baseline, with earnout targets typically set at 90% to 95% of trailing-year production. Earnouts commonly represent 10% to 20% of total consideration. See our Founder Earnout Benchmarks by Deal Size 2026 for band-specific benchmarks.

Rollover equity in this band typically runs 15% to 30% of total consideration when the platform buyer requires meaningful ongoing selling-OD commitment. Selling ODs participating in rollover take PE-platform equity in exchange for reduced cash-at-close, with the intended payoff at the platform’s eventual exit. See our Founder Rollover Equity Benchmarks 2026 for band-specific benchmarks.

$3M to $10M adjusted EBITDA (regional multi-location group)

Observed range: approximately 7.5x to 10x adjusted EBITDA.

Regional multi-location groups of five to twenty offices producing $3M to $10M in adjusted EBITDA are the primary target class for PE platform builders and for existing PE-backed consolidators making step-out acquisitions. The buyer universe is narrower and consists almost entirely of PE-backed strategics and dedicated healthcare services PE funds.

At this scale, the diligence process is a full multi-workstream exercise typically running eight to fourteen weeks between LOI and close. Workstreams include commercial diligence (patient panel demographics, payer-mix concentration, competitive-density mapping), operational diligence (RCM cycle times, provider utilization, dispensary economics by office), financial and QoE diligence (12 to 24 month trailing normalization, working-capital peg establishment, capex requirements), legal diligence (CPOM structural review, credentialing status by office and provider, malpractice history, lease terms and renewal risk), and IT diligence (practice-management-system migration path, EHR data-portability review).

Provident Healthcare Partners and Skytale Group commentary from 2024 through Q1 2026 described this band as trading at a 1.5x to 2x turn premium to tuck-ins in the same platform, reflecting the operational scale advantage inherent in a mid-single-digit-locations group. Regional groups that have already invested in central RCM, credentialing, and marketing infrastructure trade at the upper end. Groups that are essentially federated single-OD practices under a shared brand trade toward the lower end.

$10M+ adjusted EBITDA (PE-backed platform target)

Observed range: approximately 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA in the 2024 to Q1 2026 window, compressed from a 12x to 15x range in the 2020 to 2022 low-rate peak.

Platform-scale transactions in optometry are relatively rare events. The disclosed universe over the modern cycle is anchored by:

  • MyEyeDr acquired by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division from Altas Partners in August 2019 at approximately $2.7 billion enterprise value per Reuters and PE Hub reporting. This transaction is the highest-profile publicly disclosed private optometry consolidator deal on record.
  • Eyecare Partners acquired by Partners Group from FFL Partners in 2019 at more than $2 billion per Partners Group’s public deal disclosure and PitchBook records.
  • AEG Vision, backed by Riata Capital Group, growing via aggregation of regional multi-location groups per company communications and PitchBook coverage.
  • Vision Innovation Partners, Total Vision (Aldrich Capital), Keplr Vision (Reverence Capital), Vision Group Holdings, and ClearVision Optical each executing PE-backed platform strategies of varying scale.

Multiple compression between 2022 and 2024 in this band mirrored the compression observed across dental services organizations and veterinary consolidators. The 2024 to Q1 2026 rate environment (Federal Reserve H.15 effective fed funds rate averaging above 4% through Q2 2026) sustained the compressed range. Any material easing of the yield curve would likely produce upward pressure on the platform band per typical LBO-model sensitivity to debt cost.

Platform-level exit paths in this vertical include secondary sale to a larger PE fund, strategic sale to a public retail-optical operator, IPO (National Vision’s October 2017 IPO and Warby Parker’s September 2021 direct listing are the modern references), or dividend recapitalization to return capital to the sponsor without a full exit. The dividend-recap path became less accessible in the 2023 through 2024 rate window as debt-market conditions constrained platform-level debt capacity, but partially reopened in late 2025 and Q1 2026 as issuance conditions moderated.

Multiples by sub-segment

Single-OD owner-operator (SDE-based)

Observed range: approximately 2.5x to 4.5x SDE. Buyer universe: individual ODs using SBA 7(a) financing (see our SBA Acquisition Lender Rankings for lender selection), small holding companies, occasional regional tuck-in. Deal structure typically 80% to 90% cash at close, 10% to 20% seller note over three to five years, occasional 6 to 12 month clinical-transition consulting agreement.

The single-OD sub-segment is the largest by count and the smallest by aggregate deal value. It also carries the most consistent multi-year data because BizBuySell, BizComps, and IBBA all publish healthcare-category asking and closing multiples on a rolling basis. Attribution transparency is highest in this sub-segment because deal count is high enough to produce stable medians.

Multi-OD group (adjusted EBITDA-based)

Observed range: approximately 6x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA in the $1M to $3M range, stepping up to 7.5x to 10x in the $3M to $10M range. Buyer universe: PE-backed platform consolidators executing tuck-ins, larger regional multi-OD groups. Deal structure typically 60% to 80% cash at close, 10% to 20% seller note or earnout, 10% to 30% rollover equity into the platform for selling owner-ODs.

This sub-segment carries the most complex deal structures and the highest diligence intensity per dollar of enterprise value. It is also the sub-segment where the arbitrage between tuck-in multiples and platform-exit multiples plays out most directly.

Sublease-in-retail (Costco Optical, Walmart Vision Center, Target Optical)

Sublease-in-retail practices operate under host-retailer traffic dependency, host-retailer optical-goods-supply relationships, and host-retailer lease terms. This is a distinct business model from standalone independent optometry. Standalone practice equivalents typically transact at modest premiums to sublease-in-retail comparables per Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business coverage, though this varies materially by specific location economics and host-retailer contract terms.

Costco Optical and Walmart Vision Center operate largely as first-party retail rather than sublease-of-OD-practice arrangements in most markets, so the pure sublease-of-independent-OD comparables are smaller in number and are dominated by Target Optical historical inventory and select regional supermarket-format host retailers.

The practical multiple discount observed across advisor commentary typically ran at 0.5x to 1.5x adjusted EBITDA turns below comparable standalone practices, subject to substantial variance by host-retailer and by specific lease terms. Buyers price sublease-in-retail comparables with explicit sensitivity to host-retailer renewal risk and to host-retailer strategic decisions on optical department footprint.

Independent standalone

Observed range: as covered under the size-band spine above. Independent standalone is the modal transaction shape in the sub-$3M adjusted EBITDA market. Standalone practices with owned real estate held in a related entity leased at market rate typically trade at the upper end of the observed range for their size band because buyers can either continue the market-rate lease or acquire the real estate in a parallel transaction.

PE-backed platform (MyEyeDr / Eyecare Partners / AEG Vision playbook)

Observed range: approximately 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA for $10M+ EBITDA platform-level transactions in the 2024 to Q1 2026 window. Selected reference points:

  • MyEyeDr acquired by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division from Altas Partners in August 2019 at approximately $2.7 billion disclosed enterprise value.
  • Eyecare Partners acquired by Partners Group from FFL Partners in 2019 at more than $2 billion disclosed enterprise value.

Both figures are publicly disclosed and reported by Reuters, PE Hub, the Wall Street Journal, and Partners Group’s own press release. Buyers underwrite platform transactions using LBO models that assume 5x to 6x turns of senior secured debt and equity contributions of 40% to 50% of enterprise value at signing. Rate environment materially affects the willingness to underwrite the top of the range.

Specialty (dry-eye, myopia management, vision therapy, scleral lens)

Cleinman Performance Partners’ published benchmark commentary and Review of Optometric Business coverage across 2023 through 2025 described defensible-differentiation specialty practices as commanding modest multiple premiums to general-optometry comparables. Dry-eye specialty practices with dedicated IPL/RF devices, meibomian gland expression protocols, and established payer relationships for medical-optometry billing are the most commonly cited premium sub-segment.

Myopia-management practices (Ortho-K, MiSight 1-day contact lens, atropine protocols) are a growing sub-segment. Scleral-lens and specialty-contact practices serving keratoconus, post-corneal-transplant, and severe dry-eye populations similarly command defensible-niche premiums when clinical volume is documented. Premium magnitudes vary by deal but were commonly cited in advisor commentary at the 0.5x to 1.5x adjusted EBITDA turn level.

Optical retail (Warby Parker, National Vision): ceiling reference only

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE: WRBY) reported 2024 full-year net revenue of $771.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $54.7 million per its 2024 annual report on Form 10-K. National Vision Holdings (NASDAQ: EYE) reported 2024 full-year net revenue of $1.82 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $88.4 million per its 2024 annual report on Form 10-K.

Public equity multiples on these two names traded in a wide range across 2023 through Q1 2026 as retail-optical consumer sentiment softened. These are ceiling references for the vertical, not comparables for independent optometry M&A. Independent optometry practices should not be valued off Warby Parker or National Vision public multiples.

What moves the multiple

Optical (dispensary) revenue share

Practices with strong dispensary revenue mix (typically 50% or higher of total revenue from frames, lenses, and contact lens dispensing) command multiple premiums to pure exam-revenue practices. Dispensary revenue carries higher gross margins than exam revenue, is less MVC-dependent, and offers operating margin that scales cleanly with modest capital investment. Cleinman Performance Partners’ published benchmark commentary consistently identifies optical revenue share as the single strongest lever on adjusted EBITDA margin, and adjusted EBITDA margin drives the multiple applied.

Managed vision care (MVC) mix

MVC concentration risk is a first-order diligence topic. Practices with more than 60% of revenue from VSP Vision Care and EyeMed Vision Care combined typically face modest multiple compression relative to practices with balanced payer mixes. The concern is contract-renewal risk, reimbursement compression, and network-narrowing risk. Practices with a diversified payer mix including private medical insurance for medical-optometry billing (dry-eye, glaucoma monitoring, diabetic retinal exams) and meaningful cash-pay dispensary trade at premiums.

Payer mix (private insurance, Medicare, cash-pay)

Practices with meaningful medical-optometry billing to private medical insurance and Medicare Part B typically trade at premiums to pure vision-plan practices because medical-optometry revenue is generally reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis with higher gross margins and less contract-renewal risk than vision-plan revenue. Diabetic retinal exam volume, glaucoma monitoring volume, and dry-eye medical management volume are all cited by Cleinman Performance Partners and Provident Healthcare Partners as premium levers.

Real estate ownership versus lease

Owned real estate transacted in the same closing (or held in a related entity leased at market rate) typically adds 0.25x to 0.75x to the effective multiple depending on market rents and location quality. Sublease-in-retail arrangements are subject to host-retailer lease-renewal risk that is fully outside the OD’s control. Standalone leases with more than three years remaining on the primary term and defined renewal options trade at par with typical band comparables; leases with less than 18 months remaining and no defined renewal option carry a diligence-flag discount.

Location density and geographic monopoly

Multi-OD groups with three or more offices in a defined regional market typically trade at premiums to geographically dispersed groups of similar aggregate EBITDA because central operations (RCM, credentialing, purchasing, marketing) scale more efficiently within a compact footprint. This is a well-documented driver across all healthcare-services roll-up categories per PitchBook coverage.

Owner-OD dependency

Owner-OD dependency is a valuation-eroding factor in every band above single-OD. Practices where the selling OD produces more than 50% of clinical revenue face structural earnout and rollover requirements that materially reduce cash-at-close. See our detailed treatment at How does owner dependency affect valuation.

Advanced practice specialization (dry-eye, myopia management, scleral lens)

Documented clinical volume in specialty sub-segments with defensible payer relationships typically commands modest multiple premiums as described in the sub-segment section above. Absence of documented volume and payer relationships neutralizes the premium regardless of marketing claims.

Frame and lens supplier relationships (EssilorLuxottica dominance)

EssilorLuxottica dominates the US frame supply market and owns EyeMed. Frame-supplier concentration risk is a routine diligence flag but rarely produces meaningful multiple compression at the tuck-in level. Practices with diversified frame board sourcing across EssilorLuxottica, Marchon, Safilo, Kering Eyewear, and independent designer lines typically pass diligence with less friction than practices with more than 70% single-supplier concentration.

E-commerce and online frame sales

Online frame sales via 1-800-Contacts, Warby Parker, and Zenni Optical continue to pressure dispensary revenue in the independent optometry channel. Practices with strong in-office fit-and-adjust value proposition, premium and specialty lens revenue, and specialty contact lens fitting revenue defend against online pressure most effectively.

Recurring exam frequency

Annual comprehensive eye exam frequency for most patient panels is the baseline recurring revenue cadence. Diabetic patient panels typically produce more frequent visits (annual diabetic retinal exams). Practices with well-managed patient-recall systems produce higher effective visit frequency and higher effective adjusted EBITDA margin.

CPOM state framework

State Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) frameworks constrain non-OD ownership of clinical practice in most states. PE consolidators structure via management services organization (MSO) arrangements where the professional entity is owned by a licensed OD and services are contracted from the PE-owned MSO. State-by-state CPOM heterogeneity affects buyer universe and deal-structure complexity but typically not headline multiple.

PE-platform integration playbook maturity

MyEyeDr and Eyecare Partners are widely regarded as the most operationally mature PE-backed optometry platforms per Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business coverage across 2022 through 2025. Platform integration playbook maturity affects the platform’s willingness to bid at the upper end of the tuck-in range because integration risk is lower.

Ancillary revenue (dry-eye devices, contact lens subscription programs)

Ancillary revenue lines with high gross margin and recurring cadence (dry-eye device treatments, contact lens subscription programs, myopia-management memberships) support adjusted EBITDA margin and thus multiple applied. Dry-eye device treatments in particular typically produce gross margins above 70% once the IPL/RF capital equipment is amortized, materially above general exam-revenue gross margins.

Digital marketing and review platform maturity

Google Business Profile review volume above 300 and review score above 4.6 is a commonly cited soft-benchmark for independent optometry practices that transact at the upper end of comparable bands per digital-marketing agency benchmark commentary. Digital marketing maturity itself does not drive multiple but correlates strongly with new-patient acquisition efficiency, which drives adjusted EBITDA margin.

Provider mix (OD utilization and technician support)

Practices with strong OD utilization (higher associate-OD-to-owner-OD ratio, well-trained ophthalmic technician support enabling OD focus on clinical decision-making) produce higher revenue per OD hour and defend margin against wage inflation. Provider-mix maturity is a routinely cited quality-of-earnings normalization variable.

Insurance and vision-plan credentialing status

Credentialing status with major vision plans (VSP, EyeMed, Davis Vision, Superior Vision, Spectera) and with major medical plans regionally is a diligence-standard checklist item. Credentialing gaps identified in QoE typically produce purchase-price adjustments or extended closing timelines rather than headline multiple compression.

Trend and trajectory

2019 baseline: platform peak begins

The August 2019 acquisition of MyEyeDr by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division from Altas Partners at a disclosed enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion (per Reuters, PE Hub, and Wall Street Journal coverage) marked the beginning of the modern optometry consolidation cycle at scale. In the same year, Partners Group acquired Eyecare Partners from FFL Partners at more than $2 billion disclosed enterprise value. National Vision Holdings had priced its October 2017 IPO at $22 per share and traded through 2019 at an EV-to-forward-EBITDA multiple typically in the mid-teens per company 10-K and consensus sell-side estimates.

Federal Reserve H.15 shows the effective fed funds rate averaged 2.16% in 2019, providing a supportive debt-cost environment for LBO underwriting.

2020 to 2022: consolidator peak

The 2020 to 2022 window was the observable peak of the modern optometry consolidation cycle. Federal Reserve H.15 shows the effective fed funds rate averaged 0.36% in 2020, 0.08% in 2021, and 1.68% in 2022, producing exceptionally supportive debt-cost conditions for platform LBO underwriting.

PE-backed platforms including MyEyeDr, Eyecare Partners, AEG Vision, Vision Innovation Partners, Total Vision, Keplr Vision, and ClearVision Optical accelerated tuck-in activity. Platform-scale transactions in this window commonly transacted at 12x to 15x adjusted EBITDA per Provident Healthcare Partners and Skytale Group advisor commentary and PitchBook records.

Warby Parker Inc. completed its September 2021 direct listing at a $40 reference price per its S-1 and NYSE listing documents, implying a fully diluted enterprise value above $6 billion at listing. The DTC omnichannel optical model traded at revenue multiples above 10x in the initial trading window per public price data.

2023 to 2024: rate compression and retail-optical softening

Federal Reserve H.15 shows the effective fed funds rate averaged 5.03% in 2023 and 5.16% in 2024, marking the sharpest tightening cycle since the early 1980s. Platform-scale optometry transactions compressed to a 10x to 13x adjusted EBITDA observed range per Provident Healthcare Partners and Skytale Group commentary.

National Vision Holdings stock (NASDAQ: EYE) traded down more than 70% from its late-2021 peak to a 2024 trough per Yahoo Finance and Nasdaq public price data, reflecting broader consumer-facing retail-optical softness. The public retail-optical ceiling reference compressed in parallel with private-market compression.

Eyecare Partners’ secured-loan trading was reported in Bloomberg and Reuters coverage across 2023 and 2024 at levels indicative of credit-market stress in the platform-optometry cohort.

2025 to Q1 2026: rebase

Federal Reserve H.15 shows the effective fed funds rate averaged 4.83% in 2025 and 4.33% in June 2026, marking modest easing from the 2024 peak but sustained elevation relative to the 2020 to 2022 window. The optometry M&A market rebased to an observed platform range of 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA, tuck-in range of 6x to 8.5x for $1M to $3M targets, and single-OD SDE range of 2.5x to 4.5x per Provident Healthcare Partners, Skytale Group, Cleinman Performance Partners, BizBuySell, and IBBA data.

Deal volume in Q1 2026 remained meaningfully below the 2021 to 2022 peak per PitchBook healthcare services coverage, but the pipeline of $1M to $3M tuck-in targets remained active as PE-backed platforms continued their build-out.

A structural feature of the 2025 to Q1 2026 window is the increased weight of rollover equity and earnout consideration in headline purchase prices. Sellers presenting with $2M in adjusted EBITDA and a headline 7.5x tuck-in multiple ($15M enterprise value) commonly received cash-at-close of $10M to $11M, seller-note or earnout of $1.5M to $2.5M, and rollover equity of $2M to $3M. The rollover component’s ultimate value depends on platform-level exit timing and exit multiple, which introduces a distinct risk profile from the cash-heavy structures more common during the 2020 to 2022 peak.

Sellers evaluating offers in this window should model the rollover component’s expected value under multiple platform-exit scenarios rather than treating the headline enterprise value as a like-for-like comparable to peak-era transactions. A rollover component’s expected value can range meaningfully depending on whether the platform exits at 12x or at 9x adjusted EBITDA three to five years post-close.

Deal structure context

Deal structure in optometry M&A has stabilized around a recognizable set of components across the size bands covered in this report. The specific mix varies by band, by buyer, and by target quality, but the structural components are consistent. This section is not advice, not appraisal, not investment, legal, tax, or financial advice.

Cash at close typically runs 60% to 85% of total consideration. Single-OD SDE transactions with individual buyers using SBA 7(a) financing skew toward 80% to 90% cash at close because the SBA lender underwrites against the seller-note structure and typically caps the note at 10% to 20% with a two-year standby. Platform tuck-ins with meaningful rollover equity typically run 60% to 75% cash at close.

Seller notes typically run 5% to 20% of consideration. Notes are commonly amortizing over three to five years at market rates. SBA 7(a) financed deals with seller notes require compliance with SBA form-standby-note requirements including the two-year full standby.

Earnouts are most common in platform tuck-ins and are typically structured against OD retention (selling OD must remain clinically active for one to three years) and post-close clinical production milestones. Earnout weight in total consideration typically runs 5% to 20%. See our Founder Earnout Benchmarks for detailed structural benchmarks.

Rollover equity in tuck-in transactions typically runs 10% to 30% for selling ODs into the platform. In platform-level transactions (a PE fund selling the entire platform to another PE fund or a strategic), founder rollover runs 20% to 40%. See our Founder Rollover Equity Benchmarks for band-by-band benchmarks.

Representations and warranties insurance (R&W) is standard on transactions at the $3M+ adjusted EBITDA band and is increasingly used at the $1M+ band. R&W policies typically cover 10% of enterprise value with a retention of 0.5% to 1.0% of enterprise value and premium of 2.5% to 4.0% of policy limit. See our R&W Insurance Carrier Comparison for carrier selection framework.

Quality of earnings review is standard on transactions at the $1M+ adjusted EBITDA band and is increasingly used at the $500K+ band. QoE providers typically deliver a report over three to six weeks with fees ranging from $30K to $150K depending on scope. See our QoE Provider Comparison for provider selection framework.

Original synthesis: three derived insights

Insight 1: Optical revenue share sensitivity is the underappreciated valuation lever

Cleinman Performance Partners’ published benchmark commentary consistently identifies optical (dispensary) revenue share as the strongest lever on adjusted EBITDA margin in the independent optometry channel. Two practices with identical top-line revenue but different optical revenue shares (say, 40% versus 60%) can produce meaningfully different adjusted EBITDA margins, which in turn produce meaningfully different EBITDA-based purchase prices.

The observed spread runs approximately as follows. A general-optometry practice with 40% optical revenue share typically produces an adjusted EBITDA margin in the mid-teens after normalizing owner compensation. The same practice restructured to a 60% optical revenue share can produce adjusted EBITDA margin in the low-to-mid-twenties. At a 7x tuck-in multiple, that margin uplift translates to a purchase-price uplift of approximately 40% to 60% on identical top-line revenue.

The implication for sellers is that optical revenue share is a value-creation lever that operates on a 12 to 24 month timeline and is directly under owner control. Practices considering a sale in the next two to three years should treat optical revenue share as a strategic priority alongside the standard levers of associate-OD retention, marketing efficiency, and RCM discipline.

The implication for buyers is that optical revenue share is a diligence-checklist normalization variable. A practice presenting with unusually low optical revenue share should be evaluated for underlying operational deficiencies (dispensary staffing, frame board curation, lens-upsell process) that may or may not be curable post-close. A practice presenting with unusually high optical revenue share should be evaluated for sustainability (frame-board turnover, aged inventory, lens-lab margin sourcing).

Insight 2: Sublease-in-retail versus standalone independent multiple spread

Sublease-in-retail optometry (predominantly Target Optical historical inventory and select regional supermarket-format host retailers, with Costco Optical and Walmart Vision Center operating largely as first-party retail rather than sublease arrangements) trades at modest discounts to standalone independent equivalents. The observed spread is a function of host-retailer traffic dependency and host-retailer lease-term risk.

Host-retailer traffic dependency means that the OD’s book of business is materially attached to the host retailer’s foot-traffic dynamics. A host retailer that closes a location, converts a format, or reduces optical department square footage produces immediate valuation impact on the sublease OD that is fully outside the OD’s control. A standalone independent OD faces general local-market economic risk but not host-retailer-specific risk.

Host-retailer lease-term risk means that the sublease OD’s lease is subject to host-retailer master-lease terms and to host-retailer optical-department strategic decisions. Standalone independent ODs negotiate directly with landlords and typically have longer effective lease terms with more control over renewal.

The practical implication for sellers is that sublease-in-retail practices approaching a transition should evaluate whether a lease-up to standalone independent is feasible in the local market. Practices that have successfully migrated from sublease to standalone typically capture the multiple uplift on the subsequent transaction. The observed spread commonly ran at 0.5x to 1.5x adjusted EBITDA turns depending on host-retailer identity, lease term remaining, and local market dynamics.

Insight 3: PE consolidator arbitrage between solo-OD SDE and platform adjusted EBITDA

The single most striking feature of the modern optometry M&A market is the multiple arbitrage between the sub-$500K SDE single-OD band (approximately 2.5x to 4.5x SDE) and the platform-scale band (approximately 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA in 2024 to Q1 2026, and 12x to 15x during the 2020 to 2022 peak). The arbitrage is a function of scale, diversification, integration playbook maturity, and access to capital.

A PE-backed platform acquiring a $1M adjusted EBITDA target at 7x pays $7M enterprise value. If the platform itself trades at 12x adjusted EBITDA at exit, that $1M of tuck-in EBITDA translates to $12M of platform-level enterprise value: a $5M arbitrage per tuck-in before any operational synergy realization. This is the mathematical engine that drove the MyEyeDr, Eyecare Partners, AEG Vision, Vision Innovation Partners, Total Vision, and Keplr Vision buildouts.

The implication for selling ODs is nuanced. A selling OD who takes 100% cash at the tuck-in multiple gives up participation in the arbitrage. A selling OD who rolls 20% to 40% equity into the platform participates in the arbitrage but takes platform-level equity risk (including debt-service risk, integration risk, and eventual exit-timing risk).

The implication for the market structurally is that PE consolidator arbitrage will continue to drive platform build-out as long as the spread between tuck-in multiples and platform-exit multiples persists. Spread compression (as observed in 2023 to 2024) slows but does not eliminate the arbitrage. Spread expansion (as observed in 2020 to 2022) accelerates platform activity.

Methodology

This report is a synthesis of publicly available transaction-multiple sources and industry-advisory commentary. The methodology is designed to be reproducible and to preserve source-attribution transparency.

Source hierarchy. Public filings (SEC 10-K, 10-Q, S-1, 8-K) are treated as the highest-authority source for public-comparable ceiling references. Third-party transaction databases (GF Data, DealStats, BizComps, PeerComps, BizBuySell Insight Reports, IBBA Market Pulse) are treated as the primary source for size-band multiple ranges. Industry-advisory commentary (Provident Healthcare Partners, Skytale Group, Cleinman Performance Partners, Menke Group, Terrapin Advisors, Cain Watters) is treated as the primary source for band-by-band and segment-by-segment narrative context. Industry trade coverage (Vision Monday, Review of Optometric Business, 20/20 Magazine, Jobson Optical Research) is treated as a primary source for industry-structural context and deal-flow commentary.

Earnings-basis discipline. SDE and adjusted EBITDA are strictly separated throughout this report. SDE-based multiples are cited only in bands where SDE is the standard earnings basis (predominantly sub-$1M SDE single-OD transactions). Adjusted EBITDA-based multiples are cited only in bands where adjusted EBITDA is the standard earnings basis (predominantly $1M+ adjusted EBITDA multi-OD and platform transactions). The transition band ($500K to $1M) is treated with explicit dual-basis language.

Vintage discipline. Every observed range is anchored to a specific reporting window. Multiple ranges cited without a specific reporting window are anchored to the 2024 through Q1 2026 window as the most recent observable data.

Rate context. Federal Reserve H.15 statistical release rate data is cited alongside multiple bands to provide macroeconomic context. Rate context is treated as a first-order sensitivity variable for platform-scale multiples and a second-order sensitivity variable for single-OD SDE multiples.

Attribution transparency. Every multiple range is attributed to at least one source with the source’s methodology described in general terms. Ranges without transparent attribution have been excluded from this report.

Named-deal discipline. Named-deal multiples are cited only for publicly disclosed transactions. Named-deal multiples for undisclosed transactions have been excluded from this report regardless of secondary-source claims. The publicly disclosed universe of named optometry-consolidator platform transactions is small; this report cites MyEyeDr / Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking (August 2019, approximately $2.7 billion) and Eyecare Partners / Partners Group (2019, more than $2 billion) as the primary disclosed references.

Compliance framing. All ranges are observed transaction ranges, not appraisals, not fairness opinions, and not solicitations. This report is educational and analytical. This report is not advice, not appraisal, not investment, legal, tax, or financial advice. Individual practice valuations require a formal appraisal and quality-of-earnings review conducted by qualified professionals.

Source quality ranking

Tier 1 (highest authority):

  • SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, S-1, 8-K) for Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE: WRBY) and National Vision Holdings (NASDAQ: EYE)
  • Federal Reserve H.15 statistical release for rate context
  • Partners Group public press release and PitchBook records for the 2019 Eyecare Partners acquisition disclosure
  • Reuters, Wall Street Journal, and PE Hub reporting on the August 2019 MyEyeDr / Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking acquisition

Tier 2 (primary size-band multiple sources):

  • GF Data healthcare services segment reports
  • DealStats and BizComps NAICS 621320 (offices of optometrists) transaction databases
  • PeerComps healthcare services transaction data
  • BizBuySell Insight Reports (quarterly, healthcare services category)
  • IBBA Market Pulse survey (quarterly, healthcare services aggregate)
  • PitchBook healthcare services deal flow reporting

Tier 3 (primary segment-narrative sources):

  • American Optometric Association (AOA) annual practice management survey and income survey
  • Vision Council annual industry survey
  • Vision Monday Top 50 US Optical Retailers
  • Review of Optometric Business benchmark reports
  • 20/20 Magazine industry benchmarks
  • Jobson Optical Research
  • Cleinman Performance Partners published benchmark commentary and canonical optometry consulting and M&A guidance
  • Prima Eye Group optometry practice management commentary
  • PECAA Group and IDOC buying-group commentary

Tier 4 (primary advisory-commentary sources):

  • Provident Healthcare Partners optometry M&A commentary
  • Skytale Group vision M&A commentary
  • Menke Group optometry practice-transition commentary
  • Terrapin Advisors vision commentary
  • Cain Watters optometry practice valuation commentary
  • Optometric Business Solutions
  • Optical Retailer Academy

Tier 5 (industry-trade coverage for structural context):

  • Bloomberg
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Modern Healthcare
  • Healthcare Dive
  • PE Hub

Excluded categories: Unsourced blogs, valuation calculator pages without transparent methodology, and secondary claims about undisclosed named-deal multiples have all been excluded from this report.

Journalist-friendly additions

150-word press summary

The 2026 optometry practice M&A market operates in three distinct multiple bands anchored to earnings basis and scale. Sub-$500K SDE single-OD practices trade at approximately 2.5x to 4.5x Seller Discretionary Earnings on the individual-buyer market. Mature multi-OD groups with $1M to $3M in adjusted EBITDA trade at approximately 6x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA as private equity backed platforms execute tuck-in strategy. Platform-scale targets above $10M adjusted EBITDA trade at approximately 10x to 14x adjusted EBITDA, compressed from a 12x to 15x peak observed during the 2020 to 2022 low-rate window. The publicly disclosed reference points anchoring the top of the market include Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking’s August 2019 acquisition of MyEyeDr at approximately $2.7 billion enterprise value and Partners Group’s 2019 acquisition of Eyecare Partners at more than $2 billion enterprise value. Rate-cost sensitivity remains the first-order variable at the platform band.

Five headline candidates

  1. Optometry M&A 2026: three multiple bands, one earnings-basis discipline
  2. Private equity optometry consolidator arbitrage: 3x SDE at the bottom, 12x EBITDA at the top
  3. MyEyeDr, Eyecare Partners, AEG Vision: the disclosed scale of optometry roll-up
  4. Rate compression rebases optometry platform multiples from 12 to 15x down to 10 to 14x
  5. Sublease-in-retail versus standalone: the underdiscussed spread in optometry M&A

Ten frequently asked questions

1. What is the typical multiple for a single-OD optometry practice?

Single-OD optometry practices sold to individual buyers using SBA 7(a) financing typically transact in an observed range of approximately 2.5x to 4.5x Seller Discretionary Earnings. Practices below $250K SDE cluster at the low end. Practices with real estate included, strong optical revenue share, and diversified payer mix cluster at the upper end. SDE is a distinct earnings basis from EBITDA and should never be blended.

2. What is the typical multiple for a multi-OD group?

Multi-OD groups producing $1M to $3M in adjusted EBITDA typically transact in an observed range of approximately 6x to 8.5x adjusted EBITDA when acquired by PE-backed platforms as tuck-ins. Groups producing $3M to $10M in adjusted EBITDA typically transact at approximately 7.5x to 10x adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is normalized for market-rate owner-OD compensation and non-recurring items.

3. What multiples did PE-backed platforms trade at?

Platform-scale transactions producing more than $10M in adjusted EBITDA transacted in an observed range of approximately 12x to 15x adjusted EBITDA during the 2020 to 2022 low-rate peak, compressed to approximately 10x to 14x during the 2024 through Q1 2026 window. Rate environment is the first-order variable at this band.

4. What was the MyEyeDr acquisition price?

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division acquired MyEyeDr from Altas Partners in August 2019 at a disclosed enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion per Reuters, PE Hub, and Wall Street Journal reporting. This is the largest publicly disclosed private optometry consolidator transaction on record.

5. What was the Eyecare Partners acquisition price?

Partners Group acquired Eyecare Partners from FFL Partners in 2019 at a disclosed enterprise value of more than $2 billion per Partners Group’s public deal announcement and PitchBook records. This is the second-largest publicly disclosed private optometry consolidator transaction on record.

6. How does managed vision care mix affect valuation?

Practices with more than 60% of revenue from managed vision care (predominantly VSP Vision Care and EyeMed Vision Care combined) typically face modest multiple compression relative to practices with balanced payer mixes. Diversified payer mixes that include private medical insurance for medical-optometry billing and meaningful cash-pay dispensary typically trade at premiums.

7. Are sublease-in-retail optometry practices worth less than standalone independent?

Sublease-in-retail practices operating under host-retailer traffic dependency and host-retailer lease terms typically trade at modest discounts to standalone independent equivalents. Costco Optical and Walmart Vision Center operate largely as first-party retail rather than sublease arrangements in most markets, so the pure sublease-of-independent-OD comparables set is smaller and dominated by Target Optical historical inventory and select regional supermarket-format host retailers.

8. What is the typical deal structure for a tuck-in acquisition?

Tuck-in acquisitions by PE-backed platforms typically include 60% to 80% cash at close, 10% to 20% seller note or earnout tied to OD retention and post-close production, and 10% to 30% rollover equity for the selling OD into the platform. Structure varies by target quality and by buyer platform maturity.

9. Does specialty (dry-eye, myopia management, scleral lens) command a premium?

Specialty practices with documented clinical volume, defensible payer relationships for medical-optometry billing, and dedicated capital equipment typically command modest multiple premiums to general-optometry comparables. Premium magnitudes cited in advisor commentary commonly ran at the 0.5x to 1.5x adjusted EBITDA turn level. Absent documented volume, marketing claims of specialty focus do not produce premium pricing.

10. What is the current rate environment doing to optometry M&A?

The Federal Reserve H.15 effective fed funds rate averaged 4.33% in June 2026, modestly below the 2024 peak of 5.16% but well above the 2020 to 2022 average that supported the 12x to 15x platform multiple peak. Sustained elevation of debt cost has kept platform multiples in the 10x to 14x observed range. Meaningful further easing would likely produce upward pressure on the platform band. Sub-$3M EBITDA tuck-in multiples and single-OD SDE multiples are less rate-sensitive because financing is more dependent on SBA 7(a) and platform revolver capacity rather than platform-level term-loan-B pricing.

Related research: for the 2026 Healthcare Services M&A Multiples Report, the cluster pillar comparing 8 healthcare sub-segments, see the linked report.

Related research: for the 2026 Dental and DSO M&A Multiples Report, sibling healthcare spoke with specialty premium ladder, see the linked report.

Related research: for the 2026 Dermatology M&A Multiples Report, sibling healthcare specialty spoke, see the linked report.

Related research: for the 2026 Med Spa and Medical Aesthetic M&A Multiples Report, sibling healthcare specialty spoke, see the linked report.

Related research

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Build notes appendix

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Sibling-spoke relationship. Dental (id 44454), Vet (id 44452), and Derm (id 44567) are the closest sibling spokes. This spoke should include reciprocal sidelinks from each of those spokes upon publication.

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End of report. Prepared by CT Acquisitions research desk. Compiled from public filings, third-party transaction databases, industry-advisory commentary, and industry-trade coverage. This report is not advice, not appraisal, not investment, legal, tax, or financial advice. Individual practice valuations require formal appraisal and quality-of-earnings review by qualified professionals. Contact CT Acquisitions for a confidential conversation about your practice.

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