KKR has reached an agreement to acquire The Brickman Group, a portfolio company of Leonard Green & Partners, for $1.6 billion. Leonard Green acquired a controlling interest in Brickman in January 2007 for approximately $850 million. CIVC Partners is also a shareholder of Brickman having invested in the company in 1998 and 2002.
The Brickman Group is a provider of commercial landscape maintenance services. Brickman operates through a network of branches, providing landscape maintenance, snow removal and landscape design/build services to over 10,000 clients. Brickman serves a range of clients, including commercial real estate companies, professionally managed residential communities, Fortune 500 corporations and public and private institutions. The company is headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD (www.brickmangroup.com).
“Brickman is a leader in its industry, with an outstanding management team, a distinguished culture, talented and committed employees, and a track record of delivering high-quality services to its clients,” said Simon Brown, a Member of KKR and Head of Consumer Products. “We are excited to invest in the company and look forward to working closely with the Brickman leadership team to continue to build on the company’s market-leading position and grow the business over time.”
KKR makes private equity, fixed income and other investments in companies in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The firm has $83 billion in assets under management. In addition to its New York headquarters the firm has offices in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Houston, Washington DC, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Mumbai, Dubai and Sydney (www.kkr.com).
The investment in Brickman is being made by KKR North American Fund XI and other funds and accounts managed by KKR. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2013.
Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley and Co. served as financial advisors to Brickman. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) served as financial advisor to KKR.
Leonard Green & Partners’ invests in middle-market companies with market-leading franchises and defensible competitive positions, attractive growth prospects and proven management teams. The firm’s investments are in the form of traditional buyouts, going-private transactions, recapitalizations, growth capital investments, corporate carve-outs and selective public equity and debt positions. Sectors of interest include retail, distribution, healthcare, aerospace/defense and consumer/business services. Leonard Green & Partners was established in 1989 and manages approximately $15 billion of equity capital. The firm is located in Los Angeles, CA (www.leonardgreen.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-12-13
