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AOS Continues Expansion With Acquisition of South Florida Eye Associates
| October 24, 2012 12:30 AM |
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Pierre Keyser, president
and CEO of AOS.
| LAS VEGAS—
American Optical Services (AOS) is continuing its steady expansion pace in the vision care market with the acquisition of
South Florida Eye Associates (SFEA), a prominent ophthalmology practice based in Miami, Fla. SFEA has been serving South Florida’s eyecare needs for the past three decades with 10 locations and an additional 11 affiliates throughout Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The acquisition brings AOS’ current total location count in the U.S. to 95. Last week, AOS acquired the 5-unit Eyear Optical in McAllen, Texas., as reported by
VMail.
President and CEO Pierre Keyser told VMail that additional deals are pending for the remainder of 2012 and others are “in the works” for 2013. “We are very excited to be working with the talented and experienced SFEA team as we continue to build their great network. Throughout the U.S., we are focused on building partnerships with the best practitioners. SFEA is an example of a practice with tremendous patient, health care, hospital and professional relationships.”
The founders of South Florida Eye Associates, Louis Keilson, MD and Morris Segall, MD, will be staying on with AOS on a consulting basis for a few years, Keyser said. “We are delighted and proud in becoming the newest member of the AOS family of practices throughout the country,” the two founding doctors said in a statement, adding, “Together in partnership with AOS we are realizing both our professional and personal goals.”
AOS has been overseeing the operations of the practices it has acquired since its formation 2009 with a team of seven regional managers, who report to Erica Perreira, AOS’ chief operating officer. A buying team, headed by Menchie Carces, reviews the collections and brand positioning of those locations with dispensaries and retail opticals. The doctors in AOS practices report in to AOS’ VP professional affairs, Donald Smith, OD, Keyser said.
In addition, Keyser told VMail, “Our plans are not to change SFEA’s front-end model; this is true of all of our acquisitions to date, some of which have been retail-oriented eyewear businesses, and some of which are optometric or ophthalmology practices. What the public sees and what the patient sees is the same. But efficiencies are gained by the changes we can make in the back office of these businesses, and that integration is part of our approach.”
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