Incline Equity Partners has acquired Jon-Don, a distributor of commercial and industrial cleaning supplies and equipment, from Trivest Partners.
Jon-Don’s products are used by its more than 80,000 customers for concrete surface preparation and polishing, water and fire restoration, carpet cleaning, janitorial sanitation and safety.
The company maintains more than 15,000 SKU’s of supplies and equipment including, among many others, carpet, upholstery and concrete cleaners; fans and dehumidifiers; portable heaters; flood and water extractors; vacuums, brushes and brooms; gloves and hand tools; hoses and accessories; janitor carts; sponges and towels; and buckets and containers. Jon-Don also provides value-added services including repair, product consultation, and equipment rental.
Jon-Don, led by CEO Cesar Lanuza, was founded in 1978 by John and Nick Paolella, and is headquartered near Chicago in Roselle, Illinois with 16 stores and service locations nationwide.
“We are excited to partner with Incline for our next phase of growth,” said Mr. Lanuza. “Leveraging Incline’s experience and expertise allows us to execute on strategic initiatives that will further strengthen our service offering and market position, including expanding into adjacent end markets and pursuing strategic acquisitions.”
“Jon-Don has an impressive track record of long-term, profitable growth through many economic environments,” said John Morley, a partner at Incline. “Additionally, customers rely on their deep technical expertise and education resources to meet their needs. We are excited to partner with the management team to accelerate growth through acquisitions and enhanced go-to-market strategies.”
Pittsburgh-based Incline was formed in 2011 and is led by its senior partners, Jack Glover, Justin Bertram, and Leon Rubinov. The firm invests in a range of sectors in US and Canadian companies that typically have enterprise values of $25 million to $450 million. In January 2020, Incline closed its fifth fund, Incline Equity Partners V LP, with nearly $1.2 billion of capital.
Trivest acquired a non-control equity interest in Jon-Don in October 2017 through its $225 million Trivest Growth Investment Fund which closed in 2016.
Trivest was founded in 1981 and has completed more than 300 transactions totaling over $7 billion in value. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, distribution, business and healthcare services, and consumer industries. The firm is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.
Audax Private Debt provided mezzanine financing to support Incline’s buy of Jon-Don. The lender is part of Audax Group and has invested over $21 billion in more than 830 companies backed by over 230 private equity sponsors. Steve Ruby, a managing director at Audax Private Debt, led the Jon-Don transaction.
BlackArch Partners was the financial advisor to Jon-Don and Trivest on this transaction.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | January 15, 2021
