GoodVets Absorbs WellHaven's 40-Plus Hospitals in a 116-Hospital Vet Care Bet

Chicago-based GoodVets adds more than 40 established hospitals across seven states, growing its network from 75 to 116 and signaling that veterinary consolidation is still accelerating.

By Good Company Editorial Desk

The News

GoodVets, the Chicago-based veterinary care company, announced on September 24 that it has acquired WellHaven Pet Health, a network of more than 40 veterinary hospitals operating across seven states. The deal expands GoodVets' network from 75 to 116 hospitals and extends its footprint into key U.S. regions, including the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition is a notable shift in strategy for GoodVets. Founded in 2016, the company has grown almost entirely by building hospitals from the ground up in major metropolitan markets, working with entrepreneurial veterinarians who lead their own practices while GoodVets provides centralized resources, technology, and operational support. WellHaven's established practices now join that network, and over time each hospital will transition to the GoodVets brand, connecting clients to the company's network while, the company says, preserving locally led care and existing community relationships.

WellHaven's hospital teams will continue serving their clients and patients with more resources and operational support from GoodVets, the companies said. The WellHaven network itself was built the hard way: private equity firm Martis Capital founded the company in July 2017 from a single hospital in Portland, Oregon, and spent nine years supporting its growth into a leading multi-regional veterinary platform.

"We are thrilled to welcome the WellHaven team to GoodVets," said Ryan Joseph, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GoodVets. "We've built GoodVets hospital by hospital alongside veterinarians who share our values and believe that exceptional care begins with strong local relationships. WellHaven has built its network on those same principles, providing veterinary teams the technology and operating support to spend more time practicing medicine and caring for the families they serve."

"We are proud to join GoodVets and excited about what this will make possible for our hospital teams," said Justin Scambray, Chief Executive Officer of WellHaven. "They will gain access to broader resources and new opportunities to grow while continuing to care for the clients and pets they know so well. We look forward to this next chapter and providing committed, dedicated care to even more families."

Why It Matters

Veterinary care remains one of the most actively consolidating corners of the pet industry, and this deal is a reminder that the roll-up wave has not crested. Independent hospitals have been pairing up with regional platforms and private-equity-backed consolidators for years, drawn by the same pressures: staffing shortages, rising wages, and the cost of the technology and operating infrastructure that modern practices require.

GoodVets' move is especially instructive because of how the buyer has grown until now. De novo development (building new hospitals from scratch) is expensive and slow, but it produces modern, standardized facilities in markets the company chooses. Buying WellHaven gives GoodVets instant scale in established practices across seven states, a 55 percent jump in hospital count in a single transaction. That suggests management sees acquisition as a faster path to the regional density that makes a vet platform work: shared referral networks, purchasing power, and recruiting scale.

The deal also underscores how much capital still wants into veterinary services. GoodVets previously took a strategic growth investment from General Atlantic in September 2023, and partnered with SkyKnight Capital in 2021. Both firms have watched the company build hospital by hospital; this acquisition gives them a platform nearly half again as large in one stroke.

The Numbers

The headline math is straightforward: GoodVets goes from 75 hospitals to 116, a gain of more than 54 percent, with the WellHaven network contributing over 40 hospitals across seven states. The company did not disclose what it paid.

The rest of the deal's context lives in the backstory numbers. GoodVets was founded in 2016 and spent a decade growing hospital by hospital, while WellHaven started from a single Portland hospital in July 2017 under Martis Capital and grew into a multi-regional platform. GoodVets' capital partners arrived early: SkyKnight Capital made a growth investment in July 2021, and General Atlantic followed with a strategic investment in September 2023.

For scale, consider what the combined company now looks like. GoodVets hospitals prioritize wellness, prevention, and urgent care, and the company describes itself as building elevated pet healthcare in newly built spaces for what it calls today's pet community. WellHaven's contribution is different in kind: established teams with established client relationships, plus modern technology and day-to-day business management infrastructure that let veterinarians and veterinary nurse technicians focus on pet care. The combined 116-hospital network now spans established practices in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest alongside GoodVets' de novo hospitals in major metro markets.

What To Watch

The first thing to watch is the brand transition. GoodVets says each WellHaven hospital will move to the GoodVets brand over time while preserving locally led care. Brand conversions in veterinary services are delicate: pet owners choose clinics based on the veterinarian they trust, not the name over the door. How GoodVets handles the rebrand, and whether client retention holds through it, will be a real-time case study for the whole consolidating sector.

The second is what this signals for GoodVets' future growth mix. The company built its identity around developing hospitals from the ground up with entrepreneurial veterinarians. If the WellHaven integration goes well, expect the acquisition playbook to expand: there are plenty of regional platforms like WellHaven, and a 116-hospital GoodVets has far more buying power than a 75-hospital one.

The third is people. Both CEOs framed the deal around giving veterinary teams more resources and better operating support, which is exactly the pitch that works in a market where recruiting and retaining veterinarians and technicians remains the industry's central constraint. Whether combined purchasing power and centralized resources actually translate into better staffing, retention, and care quality at the hospital level is the story worth following through 2027.

Sources

GoodVets press release, "GoodVets Expands Its Relationship-Based Veterinary Care Model with WellHaven Pet Health," Business Wire, September 24, 2026: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260924180902/en/GoodVets-Expands-Its-Relationship-Based-Veterinary-Care-Model-with-WellHaven-Pet-Health

"GoodVets Acquires WellHaven Pet Health, Adds 40+ Veterinary Hospitals," CARE for Pets, October 2, 2026: https://www.pets.care/news/2026/10/goodvets-acquires-wellhaven-pet-health/