Articles

Look beyond price: Consider other terms involved in buying and selling a dental practice

Date: May 30, 2013
This article was published by Dentistry iQ, the web's most comprehensive resource for dental professionals.

Co-Author: Philip M. Bogart, Esq.

Dentists who want to either sell or buy a dental practice, as well as their brokers, often put their energy into the purchase price at the expense of other equally important issues. In many cases, the purchase price represents the selling dentist’s retirement fund, or the down payment on the purchase of another practice. On the other hand, the buying dentist thinks about his or her future cash flow. After satisfying the monthly loan payment obligations, student loan payments, and all other practice expenses, will the buyer have enough “take-home” pay to survive — net of taxes?

Frequently, the parties’ fixation on price causes the purchase structure and other issues to be relegated to mere details to be worked out after the parties shake hands. Alternatively, if the parties do not agree on a price, they may decide not to proceed with the acquisition — without looking at the purchase structure and other deal-points.

Read more here.