Bridgepoint-backed Oasis acquires Smiles

The deal will see Oasis expand its current roster of practices from 204 to 281, with the company also entering the Irish dental market. It will also increase Oasis's turnover from £160m to more than £210m.

Oasis will operate the new practices under the Smiles brand in Ireland and rebrand the company's UK operations as Oasis Dental Care.

The deal was sourced through an off-market process which began at the end of 2013.

The acquisition is the first major instalment in the company's buy and build strategy, which looks to extend the total number of practices to around 400. Oasis stated that it will consider deals for both single- and multi-site companies.

Bridgepoint acquired Oasis in a £185m secondary buyout from Duke Street in April 2013. The vendor instructed DC Advisory to find a buyer at the time and reinvested part of the sale's proceeds to retain a minority stake in the company.

Duke Street had taken Oasis private at the end of 2007, in a transaction that valued the share capital of the dental care provider at £88.2m. Barclays provided a debt package of £70.4m for the deal, comprising £55m of senior debt and a £15.4m mezzanine tranche.

Company
Smiles is a dental healthcare provider with 77 practices in Ireland and the UK. It was established in 2005 in Ireland.

People
Emmet O'Neill is the founder and CEO of Smiles. Justin Ash is CEO of Oasis.

Advisers
Company (Oasis) - PwC (Financial due diligence); Linklaters (Legal).

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• UK / Ireland
• Healthcare
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• United Kingdom
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• Bridgepoint