Vets First Choice, the leading provider of technology enabled healthcare services for veterinary medicine, announced a $223 million strategic investment to accelerate growth, launch new innovative services, and begin a global expansion effort into Europe and Asia.
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Hillhouse Capital Group led the investment, with participation from Viking Global Investors, Wellington Management Company, Rock Springs Capital, and Sequoia Heritage. A Clayton, Dubilier & Rice fund previously invested in Vets First Choice in 2015. Betsy Atkins, Founder of Baja LLC, and Terry McGuire, Founder of Polaris Partners, have joined the company's Board of Directors. A representative from Hillhouse will also join the Board.


"Vets First Choice is creating powerful insight into gaps in patient care and helping to drive greater engagement and better health outcomes for our veterinary practice partners and their clients," said Benjamin Shaw, Co-Founder and CEO of Vets First Choice. "This strategic investment will allow us to accelerate adoption of our proven platform and to support development of more advanced population health services on a global scale."

"Today's investment further supports Vets First Choice's ability to create transformational value in helping veterinarians serve their patients better and build their practices more effectively," said David Shaw, Co-Founder and Board Chair of Vets First Choice. "We are grateful to all of our investors for their support and belief in our vision."

The Vets First Choice platform allows practitioners to track medication and service compliance and to pro-actively engage clients to close gaps in care. The platform has a proven ability to triple pet owners' use of products and services that are prescribed or recommended by veterinarians. Practices that leverage the platform experience rapid growth in revenues, improved profitability and higher client satisfaction. In addition, Vets First Choice facilitates medication dispensing to pet owners through an e-commerce platform, helping veterinarians compete with larger online competitors.

"Vets First Choice is a game changer for veterinary practitioners," said Ravi Sachdev, Partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. "We are providing groundbreaking technology and valuable insights to empower veterinarians to drive practice results and patient outcomes."


"We're excited to work together with Vets First Choice on plans for international expansion," said Lei Zhang, the Founder of Hillhouse. "We are enthusiastic about helping veterinarians enhance the quality of care for pets globally."

Vets First Choice has more than doubled in size in the past year and provides technology solutions and support services to more than 20,000 veterinary practices partners.

Vets First Choice was advised by Leerink Partners LLC, and legal counsel was provided by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP.

About Vets First Choice
Vets First Choice is a leading provider of technology-enabled healthcare services for companion and equine veterinary practitioners. Founded in 2010, the company partners with veterinarians to create insight into gaps in patient care and offers professionalized pro-active prescription management to drive client engagement and improve compliance. Its services result in better prescription compliance, increased client engagement, and improved practice revenues and profitability. For more information, please visit www.vetsfirstchoice.com.