Selling Your Veterinary Practice to CityVet: A 2026 Owner’s Guide
Key takeaways
- CityVet still speaks directly to sellers. Its live ownership page invites practice owners looking to sell, although the latest verified closed acquisition found here became effective in May 2024.
- Ownership has more than one layer. RiverGlade remains the private equity sponsor, while CityVet describes veterinarian equity at the clinic level.
- Growth is hybrid. CityVet combines new-clinic openings with selective acquisitions, so its current 50-plus clinic count is not an acquisition total.
- Historical deals are examples, not promises. They show possible successor ownership and local continuity without establishing standard seller terms.
- The documents assign responsibility. Verify the buyer, funder, employer, guarantor, equity issuer, and party that owes each continuing obligation.
I was sitting at an owner’s kitchen table when she pushed a CityVet webpage toward me and circled 2 lines in purple ink. One said RiverGlade; the other said veterinarians could own their clinics.
She understood the words. She wanted to know how both could be true before she answered the message waiting on her phone.
I stopped at those circles. They described different ownership layers, and neither one identified the legal entity that might eventually appear on her signature page.
CityVet remains open to conversations with existing practice owners in 2026, according to its live ownership page. RiverGlade also continues to list CityVet as a current investment.
The latest closed acquisition I could verify became effective in May 2024. That distinction matters: current seller outreach is not proof of a newer closing, and historical structures are not standard terms.
Is CityVet still acquiring or partnering with existing veterinary practices in 2026?
Yes. CityVet’s live ownership page still addresses practice owners looking to sell, and RiverGlade continues to classify CityVet as a current investment.
The latest closed acquisition verified here is the Steiner Ranch transaction effective May 10, 2024, so current interest should not be presented as a newer disclosed closing.
The live page gives the cleanest present-tense signal. CityVet says it has a path for practice owners to obtain or maintain equity and speaks directly to owners considering a sale.
RiverGlade supplies a second current checkpoint. Its live investment page places CityVet in the current portfolio rather than the realized group.
The transaction record supplies proof of action. dvm360 reported that CityVet acquired The Animal Hospital at Steiner Ranch in Austin, effective May 10, 2024.
That clinic had been led by Tamera Cole, DVM, for 10 years. The announcement said Heidi Moore, DVM, would assume ownership and leadership as Cole transitioned out.
This is enough to pass the active-buyer gate. It shows a live seller invitation, a current sponsor relationship, and a relatively recent acquisition of an existing owner-led practice.
It does not prove a 2025 or 2026 closing. Most fresher public growth evidence concerns new clinics, so I would never turn expansion activity into an undisclosed acquisition claim.
CityVet’s current About page says the network has more than 50 clinics and is growing.
As accessed July 18, 2026, the current locations page listed multiple markets, including DFW, Austin, Orlando, and the Washington DC Metro.
Those pages show footprint, not acquisition appetite for any one practice. A seller still needs a current, practice-specific indication of interest before treating CityVet as a likely bidder.
Who owns CityVet in 2026, and how does RiverGlade differ from clinic-level DVM ownership?
RiverGlade is CityVet’s current private equity sponsor, while CityVet describes local equity opportunities for veterinarians at the clinic level. Those are different ownership layers.
Public sources do not disclose RiverGlade’s percentage, the clinic-level percentages, current voting control, or every intermediate entity in the structure.
A private equity sponsor is an investment firm publicly identified as providing ownership capital and backing a platform. That label does not reveal its exact stake or every governance right.
RiverGlade announced its CityVet partnership on April 8, 2019. It said founder Chip Cannon, DVM, would continue as an owner, board member, and leader after the transaction.
The same announcement described a local ownership model in which lead veterinarians could become part-owners of their clinics. RiverGlade’s current portfolio page still lists CityVet today.
Clinic ownership answers a narrower question. Clinic-level equity is an interest tied to a particular veterinary location, rather than necessarily to the entire platform or its sponsor.
Both statements can be true. RiverGlade can sponsor the operating platform while individual veterinarians hold negotiated interests in particular clinics.
The public record stops before the cap table. It does not disclose RiverGlade’s percentage, the founder’s current interest, local DVM percentages, voting rights, or the entities between those layers.
CityVet’s current About page says each location is veterinarian-led and owned. I would treat that as the company’s description of its local model, not as a complete statement about platform ownership.
That distinction is useful when reviewing the wider veterinary practice consolidator directory. Buyers can share a category while using very different sponsor, platform, and local-equity arrangements.
How has CityVet used acquisitions alongside new-clinic openings in 2026?
CityVet has used a hybrid growth model: de novo clinics built from the ground up and selective acquisitions of existing practices. RiverGlade described both paths in 2019, and CityVet’s historical announcements document each.
Its current count of more than 50 clinics cannot be treated as an acquisition count.
A de novo clinic is a new veterinary location built and opened from the ground up. A tuck-in acquisition adds an existing practice to a larger platform.
RiverGlade’s 2019 announcement named both routes. It said CityVet planned continued growth through new clinic openings and tuck-in acquisitions.
Country Hills Veterinary Clinic shows the acquisition path. RiverGlade announced that purchase on March 1, 2021, describing CityVet as historically de novo but moving into selective acquisitions.
The release said Country Hills would keep its existing name. It also described a local ownership structure that allowed lead veterinarians to maintain an ownership interest in their clinics.
Central Animal Clinic followed later in 2021. CityVet called it the network’s third acquisition and third non-branded clinic while describing the target as a full-service small-animal hospital.
Steiner Ranch adds the 2024 example. CityVet acquired an operating Austin clinic while placing a successor veterinarian into local ownership and leadership.
Now separate the evidence. These 3 transactions document acquisition experience, while CityVet’s current clinic count reflects both acquired locations and clinics opened by the platform.
The math cannot be reversed. Moving from 39 practices in the 2024 announcement to more than 50 clinics on today’s About page does not reveal how many were bought.
It also may not compare identical units. “Practice,” “clinic,” branded location, and partner clinic can be used differently across announcements and location pages.
For a seller, the practical question is not whether CityVet can acquire. It is whether the current team wants this practice, in this market, under a structure the owner can evaluate.
What does CityVet publicly say about equity for a seller or successor veterinarian in 2026?
CityVet says practice owners and associate veterinarians may have paths to obtain or maintain equity in their clinics. Historical acquisitions also show successor veterinarians moving into ownership or leadership.
CityVet does not publish a standard percentage, universal eligibility rule, governance package, or seller-specific equity structure.
The wording on CityVet’s live ownership page is broad by design. It says associate veterinarians and practice owners can obtain or maintain equity in their clinics.
It also addresses an owner looking to sell. What it does not provide is a public formula for who qualifies, how much they own, or which rights accompany the interest.
Central Animal Clinic offers one historical example. Seller Chris Rose, DVM, said CityVet was creating a path for an associate veterinarian to gain ownership and grow as a leader.
Steiner Ranch offers another. The announcement said Cole would transition out while Moore assumed ownership and leadership of the clinic.
These examples show possible succession structures, not a template. They cannot establish what CityVet would offer a different seller or whether a current associate must become the local owner.
Equity needs a full noun phrase. Ask whether the proposed interest is in the clinic, a management entity, the broader CityVet platform, or another issuer entirely.
Then ask what ownership means. Voting, distributions, dilution, transfer rights, information access, required capital, repurchase mechanics, and departure treatment can matter more than the percentage alone.
The associate-sale guide explains a direct internal buyout. CityVet’s model is different because a platform and sponsor may sit alongside the local veterinarian.
No public page resolves that comparison for a specific seller. The letter of intent and governing documents have to show the proposed economics and control rights.
What do CityVet’s historical acquisitions show about seller transition and leadership in 2026?
The examples show flexibility, not a standard policy. Steiner Ranch paired a departing owner with a successor veterinarian, while Central Animal Clinic discussed an associate ownership path.
Neither announcement establishes CityVet’s terms for every seller, a required transition period, guaranteed brand treatment, or continuing employment conditions.
I read transaction announcements for the facts they contain, then stop. The habit prevents a reassuring historical example from becoming a promise nobody made to the current owner.
At Steiner Ranch, Cole had led the practice for 10 years and planned to leave for further study. Moore was named to assume clinic ownership and leadership.
CityVet also said the clinic would add extended hours, surgery, and expanded dental services. Those are changes described for that clinic, not a universal integration plan.
Central Animal Clinic had another shape. Rose remained central to the announcement, and the seller highlighted an ownership path for an associate veterinarian.
Country Hills adds a branding example. RiverGlade said the clinic would continue under its existing name after the March 2021 acquisition.
Put the 3 together and CityVet appears willing to work with different local leadership arrangements. That is a fair observation about the historical record.
The record cannot answer how long a current seller must stay, whether a local name survives, who controls hiring, or which clinical and operating decisions remain local.
Those questions belong in the current proposal. The broader guide on who to sell your veterinary practice to helps owners compare transition priorities across buyer types.
Ask for recent references as well. Conversations with veterinarians who completed a comparable transition can test how the written plan worked without treating one old announcement as policy.
Which support functions does CityVet say it provides after a practice joins in 2026?
CityVet lists recruitment, human resources, marketing, technology, access to capital, accounting, and payroll as support areas for its practices. That is the company’s current public description.
A seller should still obtain a written responsibility map showing which services apply, who provides them, and how obligations are allocated.
The public support list is specific enough to start diligence. According to CityVet, its practices receive help across the administrative functions that often consume an owner’s week.
The list does not describe service levels. It says nothing about response times, local authority, required systems, allocated costs, staffing decisions, or which affiliate actually performs each function.
I would convert the marketing list into a responsibility table before comparing proposals:
| Publicly listed area | What CityVet states | What the seller should verify |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment | Support is available | Roles covered, approval rights, timelines, and local input |
| Human resources | Support is available | Employer entity, policies, investigations, benefits, and escalation |
| Marketing | Support is available | Brand control, local budget, approvals, and community communication |
| Technology | Support is available | Required systems, conversion timing, data access, and support ownership |
| Access to capital | Support is available | Eligible uses, approval process, source, and repayment or ownership effect |
| Accounting and payroll | Support is available | Reporting cadence, chart of accounts, payroll entity, and error correction |
The middle column is deliberately narrow. It repeats the company’s public representation without filling the blank spaces with assumptions.
The final column makes the support claim useful. A seller can compare who decides, who performs, who pays, and what happens when the service falls short.
CityVet’s About page says the network now has more than 50 clinics. Scale may support shared resources, but a location count cannot prove the quality or fit of a particular service.
The full veterinary practice sale guide places operating diligence beside financial, legal, employment, and transition review. Support is one component of the whole offer.
Which CityVet transaction entities and documents should a seller verify in 2026?
Verify the acquisition entity, signer, funding party, any guarantor, employer, property counterparty, equity issuer, and approval parties named in the current documents.
CityVet, RiverGlade, a local clinic, and a transaction affiliate may occupy different roles, so every material promise should map to the legal party that owes it.
A legal entity is an organization recognized by law that can sign documents, own assets, employ people, and owe obligations. A familiar brand may not be that entity.
An acquisition entity is the legal buyer named in the transaction documents. Its name may differ from CityVet, RiverGlade, or the local clinic name.
A guarantor legally promises to satisfy another party’s covered obligation if that party does not. Shared ownership never creates a guaranty by itself.
Rollover equity is ownership in a named issuer received instead of taking all agreed value in cash at closing. No public source here establishes CityVet’s standard rollover terms.
Over dinner, I ask the owner to read every defined party aloud. Awkward legal names are useful because they stop the brand from swallowing the contract distinctions.
Use this entity-and-document check before signing exclusivity:
- Copy each legal name exactly. Include the suffix, jurisdiction, and defined role shown in the document.
- Match every signature. Record the person’s title, authority, and represented entity.
- Trace the closing payment. Identify the party required to send funds and whether another party guarantees that duty.
- Identify the employer. Confirm who employs the seller and team after closing, then match that entity to the employment promises.
- Map the property documents. Separate the practice buyer from any tenant, landlord, or real-estate purchaser.
- Name the equity issuer. Obtain the governing documents for the actual security rather than relying on a platform description.
- List every required approval. Ask which board, sponsor, lender, or other party must consent and when.
- Assign continuing obligations. Put transition, support, reporting, indemnification, and other duties beside the party that owes each one.
The checklist does not imply every transaction has every layer. It prevents a seller from assuming that one named organization fills all of them.
It also protects CityVet from overstatement. The documents, not a third-party article, should establish who makes and keeps each transaction-specific promise.
How should an owner compare CityVet with other buyers before exclusivity in 2026?
Compare the complete proposals before granting exclusivity: legal buyer, cash at closing, any retained equity, employment, transition, property terms, support commitments, approvals, and continuing obligations.
CityVet’s ownership model is one diligence category, not a verdict. Seller leverage comes from qualified alternatives evaluated on the same practice information and timeline.
Exclusivity is a negotiated period when the seller agrees not to pursue or negotiate with other potential buyers. It concentrates leverage, so timing matters.
I would not start the comparison with RiverGlade’s name or CityVet’s clinic count. Neither tells an owner which proposal best fits the practice and desired transition.
Start with comparability. Give qualified buyers the same current financial, clinical, staffing, property, and operating information under the same controlled timeline.
Then place the proposals side by side. Compare legal parties, funds delivered at closing, any contingent value, retained ownership, employment, real estate, support, approvals, and continuing duties.
CityVet’s local DVM ownership message belongs in that table. So do the actual security, control rights, obligations, and departure mechanics offered to this seller.
Our Elite Selling System hand-selects and vets every buyer allowed to bid, the way a doorman with a velvet rope admits only the right people.
That process makes CityVet a potential participant, not a predetermined answer. The point is to let each qualified buyer explain its fit through a complete proposal.
If CityVet has contacted your $2M+ companion-animal general practice, I can help you map the ownership layers and compare the proposal through a free, confidential practice value estimate before exclusivity changes your options.
Bring the message, any confidentiality agreement, and the names in the signature block. Those details tell us where the useful questions begin.
Frequently asked questions for veterinary practice owners in 2026
Is CityVet still acquiring or partnering with existing veterinary practices in 2026?
Yes. CityVet’s live ownership page still addresses practice owners looking to sell, and RiverGlade continues to classify CityVet as a current investment.
The latest closed acquisition verified here is the Steiner Ranch transaction effective May 10, 2024, so current interest should not be presented as a newer disclosed closing.
Who owns CityVet in 2026, and how does RiverGlade differ from clinic-level DVM ownership?
RiverGlade is CityVet’s current private equity sponsor, while CityVet describes local equity opportunities for veterinarians at the clinic level. Those are different ownership layers.
Public sources do not disclose RiverGlade’s percentage, the clinic-level percentages, current voting control, or every intermediate entity in the structure.
How has CityVet used acquisitions alongside new-clinic openings in 2026?
CityVet has used a hybrid growth model: de novo clinics built from the ground up and selective acquisitions of existing practices.
RiverGlade described both paths in 2019, and CityVet’s historical announcements document each. Its current count of more than 50 clinics cannot be treated as an acquisition count.
What does CityVet publicly say about equity for a seller or successor veterinarian in 2026?
CityVet says practice owners and associate veterinarians may have paths to obtain or maintain equity in their clinics. Historical acquisitions also show successor veterinarians moving into ownership or leadership.
CityVet does not publish a standard percentage, universal eligibility rule, governance package, or seller-specific equity structure.
What do CityVet’s historical acquisitions show about seller transition and leadership in 2026?
The examples show flexibility, not a standard policy. Steiner Ranch paired a departing owner with a successor veterinarian, while Central Animal Clinic discussed an associate ownership path.
Neither announcement establishes CityVet’s terms for every seller, a required transition period, guaranteed brand treatment, or continuing employment conditions.
Which support functions does CityVet say it provides after a practice joins in 2026?
CityVet lists recruitment, human resources, marketing, technology, access to capital, accounting, and payroll as support areas for its practices. That is the company’s current public description.
A seller should still obtain a written responsibility map showing which services apply, who provides them, and how obligations are allocated.
Which CityVet transaction entities and documents should a seller verify in 2026?
Verify the acquisition entity, signer, funding party, any guarantor, employer, property counterparty, equity issuer, and approval parties named in the current documents.
CityVet, RiverGlade, a local clinic, and a transaction affiliate may occupy different roles, so every material promise should map to the legal party that owes it.
How should an owner compare CityVet with other buyers before exclusivity in 2026?
Compare the complete proposals before granting exclusivity: legal buyer, cash at closing, any retained equity, employment, transition, property terms, support commitments, approvals, and continuing obligations.
CityVet’s ownership model is one diligence category, not a verdict. Seller leverage comes from qualified alternatives evaluated on the same practice information and timeline.
Sources
CityVet and RiverGlade ownership materials
- RiverGlade Capital. “RiverGlade Capital Announces New Partnership with CityVet.” April 8, 2019. riverglade.com
- RiverGlade Capital. “Investments.” Current page accessed July 18, 2026. riverglade.com
- CityVet. “Ownership.” Current page accessed July 18, 2026. cityvet.com
- CityVet. “About CityVet.” Current page accessed July 18, 2026. cityvet.com
- CityVet. “Locations.” Current page accessed July 18, 2026. cityvet.com
Specific CityVet acquisition announcements and reporting
- RiverGlade Capital. “CityVet Expands Into San Antonio With the Acquisition of Country Hills Veterinary Clinic.” March 1, 2021. riverglade.com
- CityVet. “CityVet Acquires Central Animal Clinic in Cedar Hill, TX.” July 20, 2021. cityvet.com
- dvm360. “Veterinary Network Acquires The Animal Hospital at Steiner Ranch.” June 24, 2024. dvm360.com
Melani Seymour, co-founder of Transitions Elite, helps veterinary practice owners take action now to maximize value and secure their future.
With over 15 years of experience guiding thousands of owners, she knows exactly what it takes to achieve the best outcome.
