Blackstone has agreed to sell GCA Services Group to Goldman Sachs and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Blackstone acquired GCA Services Group from Nautic Partners in November 2012.
GCA Services Group is a provider of facility services including janitorial and custodial services; contamination control for cleanroom manufacturing; facilities operations and maintenance services; grounds and athletic field management services; and staffing. GCA has more than 900 customers that operate in the following sectors: K-12 schools, higher education, manufacturing, corporate office buildings, high-tech, bio-pharmaceutical, nuclear power, defense, and rental car. The company is led by its CEO Bob Norton and has approximately 37,000 employees throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. GCA Services was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Cleveland (www.gcaservices.com).
“We are extremely proud of the significant growth and value creation at GCA during our ownership. It has been a privilege to partner with Bob Norton and the outstanding GCA management team in their efforts to expand a best-in-class national provider of janitorial and facility management services,” said Peter Wallace, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone who led the transaction.
Blackstone’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, credit-focused funds and closed-end funds. Blackstone also provides financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory, and fund placement services. Blackstone is headquartered in New York (www.blackstone.com).
Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com) was the financial advisor to Blackstone and GCA. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-17-15
