Sterling Partners has sold its portfolio company GEM Mobile Treatment Services, a provider of environmental remediation services, to Evergreen Industrial Services, a portfolio company of Platform Partners.
GEM Mobile Treatment Services (GEM), acquired by Sterling in 2010, provides mobile vapor control and tank degassing, mobile turnaround and marine services, mobile wastewater treatment services, as well as emissions monitoring and environmental compliance reporting. Customer typically operate in the petroleum, petrochemical, environmental and energy industries. GEM, founded in 1994, has six locations in the United States and is headquartered near Long Beach in Signal Hill, CA (www.gem-mobile.com).
“Sterling’s investment in GEM was consistent with our strategy of partnering with founders and backing innovative companies that provide high-quality services in growing industries,” said Mike Drai, Principal at Sterling Partners.
Sterling Partners focuses on investing growth capital in small and mid-market companies in industries with positive, long-term trends, including education, healthcare, and business services. Sterling manages over $5 billion in institutional capital. The firm was founded in 1983 and has offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami (www.sterlingpartners.com).
“Since partnering with Sterling to scale our business, we’ve built GEM to be a market leader that provides critical engineered solutions to our customers,” said GEM founder and COO Paul Anderson. “We’re excited to continue serving our customers in partnership with Evergreen.”
Evergreen Industrial Services provides cleaning services for oil refineries, petrochemical plants, power generation plants, manufacturing sites and mills. Services include project management, onsite wastewater treatment, vapor control, hydro-blasting, vacuuming, chemical cleaning, tank cleaning and waste handling. The company was founded in 2000 by Jon Hodges and was acquired by Platform Partners in April 2011. Evergreen is headquartered near Houston in La Porte, TX (www.evergreenes.com).
Anderson will assume leadership of GEM from Steve Ragiel, who has served as CEO since 2012. “Sterling’s capital investment, understanding of this niche market and experience working with founder-led businesses has enabled GEM’s management team to broaden the company’s service offerings and expand into new markets,” said Steve Ragiel GEM’s CEO.
Platform Partners invests from $10 million to $75 million of equity capital in companies with a history of operating profitability. The firm was founded in 2006 and is based in Houston (www.platformllc.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-29-15