GI Partners has signed an agreement to acquire Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, a provider of facilities management services to retail and grocery chains, from Kohlberg & Company. GI’s investment will be made through GI Partners’ $2 billion fourth fund. Completion of the transaction is expected in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Kellermeyer Bergensons Services (KBS) was established in 2011 after the merger of Kellermeyer Building Services, which was founded in 1967, and Bergensons Property Services, founded in 1984. The company’s services include contract cleaning, porter services, parking lot maintenance, snow removal, landscaping, general repairs, and other trade and technical services. The company serves the retail and grocery markets as well as education and healthcare. KBS has over 300 customers in over 15,000 customer locations in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company has approximately 11,000 direct employees and also has a network of affiliated contractors. KBS has headquarters in Oceanside, CA and Maumee, OH (www.kbs-clean.com).
“KBS is a market leader and well-positioned for continued growth, both organically and through targeted acquisitions,” said Hoon Cho, Managing Director at GI Partners. “We look forward to partnering with CEO Mark Minasian and his talented team in building on the substantial success that the company has achieved to date.”
GI Partners invests from $50 million to $250 million in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $750 million. Sectors of interest include IT infrastructure & services; healthcare services; leisure & retail; and financial & real estate services. Since founding, GI has managed $10 billion across four private equity funds and invested in 38 platform investments. GI Partners is based in Menlo Park (www.gipartners.com).
“Outsourced facilities services is a large and growing industry, and significant additional growth opportunities exist as the company continues to broaden its services offering. Moreover, as the company enters complementary end markets, such as education and healthcare, its national presence, hybrid service delivery model, differentiated field management infrastructure, and data-driven orientation will allow KBS to continue to grow share,” said Amin Hariri, Director at GI Partners.
GI Partners has previous experience in the facilities management services sector through its investment in The Linc Group, a provider of infrastructure and maintenance services, which was acquired by ABM Industries in 2010.
“We are pleased that the actions taken under our ownership to create and grow KBS have resulted in positioning the business for a successful sale,” said Seth Hollander, Partner at Kohlberg & Company. “We are confident that the company will continue on its trajectory of success under GI Partners’ ownership.”
Kohlberg & Company invests in companies in the industrial manufacturing; consumer products; business services; healthcare services; and financial services sectors. The firm concentrates on transactions with EBITDAs between $20 million and $100 million where it can invest between $50 million and $200 million of equity. Kohlberg & Company is currently investing its seventh private equity fund, Kohlberg Investors VII. The firm was founded in 1987 and is based in Mt. Kisco, NY (www.kohlberg.com).
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-30-14
