NEW YORK—Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in what it describes as "promising companies at the lower end of the midmarket," announced a new partnership yesterday with Midwest Eye Consultants, a management service provider to eye care practices in Indiana and northwest Ohio. Midwest Eye, founded in 1978 and headquartered in Wabash, Ind., is owned and managed by its founding doctors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Midwest Eye's affiliated optometry and ophthalmology practices provide patients a full spectrum of eyecare, including primary care, surgical services, LASIK, and prescription eyewear.

As of the closing, these practices operated in 54 locations, primarily in rural and secondary markets, and employed more than 74 health care specialists. Since its inception, Midwest Eye has completed 43 acquisitions, has invested meaningfully in its infrastructure to support growth via acquisition, and is well positioned to continue its growth strategy, the announcement said.

"Midwest Eye's system is one of the fastest growing providers of eyecare in Indiana and Ohio," said Paul Murphy, a partner at Sentinel. "Midwest Eye's highly experienced and tenured management team is deeply committed to providing world-class patient care and to supporting its partner providers. As an acquisition platform, Midwest Eye has a proven record and sophisticated infrastructure that enables it to attract new practices to its network and drive impressive growth."

"We are very excited to partner with Sentinel in our next phase of growth," said Bruce Trump, OD, co-founder and CEO of Midwest Eye. "Sentinel has deep experience assisting founder entrepreneurs in the health care services sector to pursue sustainable growth and offer meaningful value to health care providers. Our vertically integrated eyecare delivery model is strategically differentiated and offers tangible value and high quality patient care."

Sentinel has a well-established record of investing in the health care services sector, including investments in pain management, hospice, home health care, and dentistry. This is its first investment in the eyecare sector. Sentinel's prior health care investments include Altima Dental Centres, one of the largest dental services organizations in Canada; Castle Dental and Metro Dentalcare, each a leading regional dental service provider; Hospice Advantage, a hospice care organization; Interim Healthcare, a provider of home health care and staffing; MB2 Dental, a dental service organization with a unique doctor-centric ownership model; National Spine & Pain Centers, a service provider to interventional pain management physicians; New You Bariatric Group, a provider of administrative support services to bariatric surgery offices; Northeast Dental Management, a leading dental service provider in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic; and ReachOut Healthcare America, a leader in mobile dentistry.

Physician Growth Partners served as financial advisor to Midwest Eye Consultants.