O2 Investment Partners has formed EIS Holdings to house its investments in environmental abatement services companies 1 Priority Environmental Services and Earth Services & Abatement. EIS has also now acquired Arkansas-based Snyder Environmental & Construction.
Snyder Environmental is a provider of environmental abatement and remediation services throughout the Southcentral United States, particularly Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. The company specializes in asbestos abatement, mold remediation, dust control, and lead paint removal. Snyder, led by CEO Joe Carter and President Justin Dixon, was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in North Little Rock, AR with additional offices in Tulsa, OK; Dallas, TX; and Bentonville, AR.
With the addition of Snyder, EIS Holdings is now one of the top five abatement firms in the US with over 550 employees and 19 offices serving the Southern, South Central, Midwest, and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. EIS, led by CEO Gary Caldwell, COO Rob Odom, and CGO Kory Mitchell, has completed six transactions in the past three years and an additional three more businesses are currently under letters of intent.
“Gary, Rob, Kory, and the rest of the leadership at EIS Holdings have done an incredible job of incorporating each other’s businesses into this national platform. Joe Carter, Justin Dixon, and the rest of the team at Snyder are great additions to the platform and we’re looking forward to their continued growth,” said Luke Plumpton, a partner at O2.
O2 acquired 1 Priority Environmental Services, a provider of asbestos abatement, lead abatement, mold remediation, and biohazard decontamination, in May 2018 and merged it in February 2019 with Earth Services & Abatement, a provider of asbestos and lead abatement, water and soil remediation, and structural demolition services.
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 in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, LA. Earth Services & Abatement, headquartered in Denver, maintains licenses and certifications in 34 states and has completed more than 10,000 projects since its founding in 1982.
“Snyder has a phenomenal reputation in the abatement industry, and they bring significant scale and geographic diversity to EIS,” said Mr. Caldwell. “Joe Carter and Justin Dixon have built a rock-solid company and we are looking forward to helping them continue to serve their clients. We are excited to have Joe and Justin on our team.”
O2 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 prefers 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, O2 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.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | October 24, 2019
BEI Precision Systems & Space Company, a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company, has acquired Wenzel Associates.
“The Wenzel acquisition further enhances BEI Precision’s reputation as a provider of the highest-performance advanced sensing and positioning solutions for critical applications,” said Steve Brooks, a partner at J.F. Lehman.
Wenzel is the second add-on acquisition completed by BEI since being acquired by J.F. Lehman in May 2017. In November 2017, it acquired 
Sunstone Partners has held a final, oversubscribed and hard cap closing of its second fund, Sunstone Partners II LP, with $475 million of capital.
“We are grateful to Sunstone’s existing and new investors who share our excitement for the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Gustavo Alberelli, a managing director of Sunstone. “This level of overwhelming support is a result of the positive response to our investment strategy, portfolio operations approach as well as the strong performance of our existing portfolio companies.”
“Fund II will focus on growth equity and growth buyout investments in technology companies that we believe are poised for rapid growth and market share gains,” said Mike Biggee, a managing director. “Our sector-focused approach, extensive track record and collaborative portfolio operations model, position Sunstone to be the partner of choice to founders looking to scale their companies.”
In May 2019, Sunstone formed 
“We are proud of the platform we have built at Sunstone and are excited to continue our mission of finding and building great businesses,” said Arneek Multani, a managing director. “With Fund II, we will continue to make investments in our team, operating capabilities and technology, that will position us to drive further success to our portfolio companies.”
General Atlantic has hired Kell Reilly as a managing director in its Palo Alto office to focus on investments in the technology sector. Prior to joining General Atlantic, Mr. Reilly was with D1 Capital Partners where he served as co-head of the firm’s technology, media and telecommunications group.
“Technology and innovation are part of General Atlantic’s DNA,” said Bill Ford, chief executive officer of General Atlantic. “The globalization of entrepreneurship has led to the creation of outstanding technology and technology-enabled businesses around the world. Kell brings a global investing background that will add value to our current portfolio and our sourcing efforts.”
“Technology underpins all of our investing and partnerships across General Atlantic, with more traditional industries experiencing considerable disruption as the paradigm heavily shifts towards digital, mobile, consumer internet, and software. We are continuing to see an acceleration in innovation in the U.S. and globally, resulting in exceptional opportunities to partner with forward-thinking founders and management teams,” said Anton Levy, Managing Director and Global Head of General Atlantic’s Technology sector. “We are thrilled to have Kell on board as we work to accelerate the growth of some of the most exciting global technology companies in the world.”
