Data Clean Corporation, a provider of critical environment cleaning, contamination control, and remediation services, has acquired SML Enterprises.
Data Clean’s services include exterior hardware cleaning, top-of-floor cleaning, and underfloor plenum cleaning. Combinations of these services are performed by the company at scheduled intervals, ranging from once per year to once a day. Within a data center, a plenum refers to the area above the suspended ceiling or under the raised floor that is used for the circulation of air. It acts as a pathway for distributing cool air from the cooling systems to the server racks and other equipment in the data center.
Data Clean provides its services to thousands of facilities around the world including data centers, computer rooms, network and telecommunications facilities (through its “Data Clean” branded division) and biopharmaceutical and life sciences cleanrooms and laboratories (through its “Sterile Science” branded division).
The company’s Sterile Science division provides sanitization services (reduces contamination by 99.9% or 3-log), disinfection services (eliminates between 99.99% and 99.999% of all contaminates), and sterilization services (eliminates 99.9999% of all organisms, known as a 6-log). The division’s customers include operators of pharmaceutical suites, cleanrooms, healthcare facilities, critical production and laboratory areas.
Data Clean operates full-service branches in Canada, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United States. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered near Chicago in Des Plaines, Illinois
SML Enterprises is a provider of environmental contamination control services to data centers and cleanrooms. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered near Washington DC in Bristow, Virginia.
Post-closing, SML Executive Vice President Mike Piscelli will transition to an advisory role and continue to support the growth of the combined business. “When our family decided that the time was right to sell our company, we quickly turned to Data Clean due to our longstanding relationship, shared dedication to growth, focus on quality, and most importantly, our commitment to employees and clients,” said Mr. Piscelli. “Being what we view as the leader in critical environment contamination control, Data Clean was our clear choice as an acquisition partner.”
The buy of SML Enterprises is the first add-on acquisition for Data Clean since being acquired by Angeles Equity in November 2022. At that time, the firm partnered with the company’s owners – Richard Hill and Dean Sirakides – to execute a buy-and-build strategy in the critical environment contamination control sector.
“The strategic fit between Data Clean and SML is ideal and a great first step towards executing our strategy of further consolidating the critical environment contamination control space,” said Frank Spelman, managing director at Angeles. “As the data center sector continues to grow, the essential nature of keeping those facilities free from contaminants will only increase. Angeles is optimistic about the long-term outlook for this sector.”
“SML is a great fit for us, given the strong alignment of their culture of excellence with Data Clean’s prioritization of its people and clients. We believe the combination of our decades of collective experience with the latest technological innovations will provide our customers with the peace of mind that comes from best-in-class solutions,” said Mr. Hill. “This add-on acquisition highlights our commitment to being recognized as the market leader in contamination control services for critical environments.”
Los Angeles-based Angeles Equity makes control investments in companies with enterprise values up to $200 million that have headquarters and primary operations in the United States and Canada. Sectors of interest include aerospace, automotive, building products, capital goods, chemicals, electronics, manufacturing, metals, transportation and logistics, packaging, and distribution.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | June 14, 2023
