Integrated Dental Holdings in a £300m sale

Merrill Lynch has put the UK's biggest chain of dental practices, Integrated Dental Holdings, on the market with a price tag of between £300 million and £400 million.

Set up by dentist David Hudaly in 1996, the Bolton-based business now operates 250 practices offering private and NHS services to around 1.5 million patients each year, and boasts more than 700 dentists.

Merrill Lynch's previous attempt to sell IDH in September last year, with a sale price of £200 million, was unsuccessful.

Merrill Lynch, which owns a controlling stake in the group, is managing the sale process itself this time round with Hawkpoint acting as advisor.

The private equity outfit of Merrill Lynch took on the majority stake in early 2008, in a deal which is believed to have valued IDH at £300 million, including its debts. The seller, LGV Capital, the private equity arm of Legal & General, also sold two other healthcare businesses within one week.

At the time, a hefty windfall was expected for David Hudaly and his team out of the deal, with the intention to put most of the cash back into the business.

Under ownership of LGV Capital from early 2006 to early 2008, IDH's number of surgeries increased from 130 to about 190 and its turnover jumped from £75 million to £90 million.

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