Opportunities for Action: Would an Acquirer Consider Your Company “A Premium Brand”?
Paul revisits his interview with Brent Mack of Golden Bear Therapy Partners on what makes a premium brand, why numbers reflect behavior, and how local brands can pair with centralized support.
Full transcript
Generated from the episode audio and lightly edited for readability.
Good afternoon and welcome to another episode of the Martin Rehab M&A advisory. Today we're going to take a look back one week with an interview that we did with Brent Mack and we're going to discuss some opportunities for action that you can put into place. Now, as you may recall, Brent is the CEO of Golden Bear Therapy Partners. And it's important to note that Brent came out of ATI where he was a big part of their growth as their chief operating officer. And so that certainly is a discussion point for companies that are interested in pursuing a relationship, a partnership with Golden Bear because as you recall and as you all know, ATI became a national brand as opposed to branding their clinics locally.
In addition, ATI was very centralized in their corporate structure and their systems. And third, you know, that may be something that's appealing to you, that may be something that's not appealing to you, but Brent was very clear that when they are seek that they are seeking partnerships and he described that they're seeking partners with premium brands. My question for you is, are you a premium brand? And what do you what comes to your mind when you think of a premium brand? As we looked at that and as Brett Brent described that, I think that means that you are best in your local market.
You're the best in the communities that you serve. That is a premium brand. I think it's also clear that Golden Bear and Brent are seeking a are seeking companies that have a cultural fit. So they're looking for a cultural fit and our team at Martin Healthcare Advisors, we're completely aligned with that. And you know, it is a primary reason why a seller in this market needs to have a deep understanding of the companies and the acquirers out there and the cultures that they have as this could be a driving force in your decision.
Brent said something that really resonated with me and he said,"Numbers are a reflection of behavior." And so, what do your numbers reflect about the behavior of your professional staff and how you lead your professional staff? You know, you can tell someone like Brent how great your practices are, but when they get the information, is that in alignment with the description of your practice? Because if it's not, it's going to cause them to pause and pauses in this current market are going backwards because there are companies that are prepared for this market that will jump ahead of you.
So you want to make sure that your numbers are reflecting the behavior of your professional staff. You know, Brent also described a phenomenon that we see with different acquirers across the United States, and that is that they keep the local names and brands, but they also use some centralizing systems, centralized systems. And you know, we have some clients that come to us and they say, 'You know, once we're acquired, we just want to be left alone. We want to keep our same billing system. We want to keep our same HR.
We want to keep our same finance group. We just really want to be left alone. But many clients of ours and many companies out there, while you're seeking a partner, which is what Brent has described, Golden Bear as seeking, but they also want to have support in with some of those centralized systems that will enable them to drive their businesses forward and faster by not having to focus on HR, billing and collections, finance, business development, etc. You know, Brent's description of Golden Bear would lead me to believe that they respect local decisionmaking.
They respect local brands, but they want to centralize many functions that most PT practice owners do not want to do day in and day out. You know, it was interesting. He described it as a small momand pop shop with the support of a large organization. So being able to keep that local community feel but having that large organization as that support structure and as I described initially Brent coming out of ATI where everything was pretty much centralized and the brand was the same across the country.
He and Golden Bear are looking to do it a little differently and unique than the company where he came from. But he does bring that experience of a centralized system and function. And as we often describe, you know, these companies are all so different. And what I would caution you against is as you talk to some of these acquirers, and I know many of you are getting calls from these acquirers, sometimes it's only natural that the direction that they may be leading you is a direction that you may initially just say that's the direction I want to go.
That's the direction I want to follow. That sounds so appealing. But what you haven't done is sat down and really looked at what is the criteria for what you are looking for in a partner and how does that match the best partners for you in this current market. And if you're having some of those questions right now and you're considering looking into this market, you should click below and have a conversation with me so that we can talk you through the acquirers out there that may be the m best match for you.
We appreciated the time we got to spend with Brent Mack and I hope you guys also got something a lot out of this and things that you can look at right now and take into action. I look forward to talking to you in the very near future. Thank you.
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