RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—VSP Ventures announced late last week that Eye Trends, a six-location practice spread across North Houston, Texas, has chosen VSP Ventures as its acquisition partner. Co-owners Dr. Douglas Inns and Dr. Michael Toups lead the practice and have provided health-focused vision care to generations of Texas families for more than 30 years, the announcement noted. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The new partnership marks a significant milestone as it signals the entry of VSP Ventures into “a new state via a practice respected within its community and throughout the optometric industry, alike,” the announcement noted.

“In contrast to the traditional acquisition model, it also upholds the promise to private practice eye doctors to bring a solution, wherever it’s needed, that prioritizes legacy preservation and patient care,” VSP Ventures said. VSP Ventures has added locations in Nevada, along with its home state of California via earlier transactions, and now has 53 locations in its portfolio of acquired eyecare office locations.
 
While Dr. Inns and Dr. Toups have sold Eye Trends to VSP Ventures, they will continue to own the national optometric doctor alliance, Vision Trends, which was not included in the sale of Eye Trends, according to the announcement on Friday.
 
“The VSP Ventures team has been great to work with throughout the transition process,” said Dr. Inns.  “We feel that VSP Ventures has the same commitment to provide Eye Trends patients with high quality, full-scope optometric care that we do.”
 
The Eye Trends practice includes 14 associate doctors who bring versatility, a wide range of expertise and compassion to the practice.
 
“We felt comfortable knowing that VSP Ventures would take care of our patients, but just as important, our employees who have been with us for many years,” Dr. Toups said.
  
“The fact that Dr. Inns and Dr. Toups would entrust us with Eye Trends, their decades-old brand that they’ve worked so hard to build, is a great honor,” added Tiffanie Burkhalter, president of VSP Ventures. “Our goal is that doctors feel 100 percent confident in their decision to sell and that they feel safe in knowing their legacy will endure and flourish in our care.”
 
To learn more about VSP Ventures’ transition philosophy, visit VSPVentures.com. VSP Ventures is a unit of VSP Global.