Private Practice Consolidation Opportunity in the Fragmented Urology Specialty

Published August 2017

The urology sector has yet to see significant investment and consolidation led by private equity, but the specialty is poised to be a newer area of interest from the investor community as evidenced by Audax Group’s 2016 recapitalization of Chesapeake Urology. Large group practices will be at an advantage over smaller groups as an aging U.S. population will continue to drive demand for urologic procedures, and a projected shortage of urologists will put further emphasis groups’ ability to recruit new providers and increase the productivity per physician.

With 12,186 practicing urologists in the U.S.¹, the specialty is similar in size to dermatology and gastroenterology, but smaller relative to other actively consolidating physician services areas highlighted in Table 1. However, a high level of market fragmentation and the presence of several market-leading platforms indicates there’s an opportunity for a regional or national roll-up strategy led by private equity. As seen in Figure 1, consolidation in the industry has been occurring for the last decade, primarily driven by hospital acquisitions and mergers with larger practices.

Report Summary
• Market Factors Affecting the Urology Industry
• Private Equity: The Alternative to Hospital Employment
• Concluding Thoughts