O2 Investment Partners has made an investment in 1 Priority Environmental Services, a provider of asbestos abatement and other environmental services.
1 Priority’s services include asbestos abatement, lead abatement, mold/microbial remediation, HVAC system air duct cleaning, and biohazard decontamination. Customers of the company are active in a range of industries including commercial, industrial, infrastructure (roadways and bridges), military and governmental, aviation, education, and healthcare.
1 Priority was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, TX with regional Texas offices located in Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Gatesville (Fort Hood), Lubbock, and two additional regional offices located in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, LA. The company, led by CEO Gary Caldwell, COO Rob Odom, and VP Operations Heath Watson, has approximately 200 full-time employees (www.go1priority.com).
“1 Priority has grown into one of the largest asbestos abatement companies in the Southern United States by building on our reputation of premier customer service along with superior and on-schedule project execution,” said Mr. Caldwell. “We are very excited to partner with O2 and are confident we’ve found the right partner to help facilitate our growth while continuing to serve our loyal customer base.”
“Gary Caldwell, Heath Watson, and Rob Odom have built 1 Priority into one of the premier asbestos abatement and indoor air quality remediation companies in the country,” said Luke Plumpton, Partner at O2 Investment Partners. “We are thrilled to partner with them and look forward to building on the company’s impressive historical growth trajectory to expand the platform into new geographies.”
O2 Investment Partners makes control investments of $5 million to $75 million in companies with EBITDAs from $2 million to $10 million located anywhere in the US and Canada but has a preference for the Midwest and the Great Lakes regions. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, niche distribution, select service businesses, and certain technology businesses.
In October 2017, the firm held a final closing of its Oxygen Fund with an above-target $100 million of capital commitments. O2, based in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, is backed by the Orley family which has been investing in operating businesses and real estate since 1950 (www.o2investment.com).
New York-based Deerpath Capital Management (www.deerpathcapital.com) and Houston-based Green Bank (www.greenbank.com) provided debt financing for this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 16, 2018