Curtis Cusinato is featured in Lexpert's special edition on Technology and Health Services on the opportunities for private equity in health care M&A in Canada—whether it's practices such as dentistry and orthodontics, veterinary care, or new ventures such as virtual care.  

He says, "We’re starting to see tremendous consolidation in this sector . . . It's not just about private equity having a lot of money. Private equity has been involved in a lot of this consolidation because they’ve got the expertise to take what I call ‘older’ facets of health care and modernize them. They also know how to deal with a very complex regulatory environment.”

Public policy and regulatory issues often arise related to the protection and enforcement of goodwill associated with the clinics because the practice is responsible for providing the health services. In other circumstances, a licence may be considered personal to the holder, and a new licence application will be required if the entity holding the licence is subject to change.

Curtis says that different circumstances may call for other solutions, and the regulatory colleges “often have really good solutions” when approached by consolidators about how to invest in these businesses while protecting public policy interests.

Read the full article on the Lexpert website.