The Stephens Group has acquired Astro Pak, a provider of cleaning services tailored to highly regulated industries.
Astro Pak offers high-purity and precision cleaning services to companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food and beverage, semiconductor, aerospace, and defense sectors, meeting micron-level cleanliness and compliance standards.
Key services include passivation, which enhances corrosion resistance in stainless steel by removing contaminants; derouging, which eliminates iron oxide buildup in high-purity water systems used in biotech and semiconductor industries; and oxygen cleaning, which removes hydrocarbons and particulates from components in oxygen-rich environments—critical for aerospace, defense, and medical applications.
Notable Astro Pak projects include a 2017 assignment to etch 5 to 50 microns of material from the interior of an ultra-pure titanium detection vessel for the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment in South Dakota, which aims to identify dark matter particles. In 2020, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory engaged Astro Pak to clean and process a portion of the 19,000 components used in the Perseverance Rover to prevent biological contamination.
Astro Pak was founded in 1959 by Carl Verheyen and Jim St. Clair during the height of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The company initially specialized in precision cleaning of spaceflight hardware for major aerospace contractors, supporting American space programs such as Project Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.
Today, the company is led by President Ken Carroll, who assumed the role in August 2024, succeeding Ken Verheyen (the founder’s son), who transitioned to the position of chairman of the board. Astro Pak is headquartered south of Los Angeles in Costa Mesa, California, and operates 10 field service locations and 2 cleanroom facilities across the United States.
“When evaluating potential investors, Stephens Group stood out for their deep understanding of our business and target markets, coupled with a founder-led culture,” said Mr. Carroll. “Their extensive human capital resources, cultural alignment, long-term perspective, and permanent capital base make them the ideal partner to help us achieve our vision. With their support, we will continue delivering exceptional value to our customers while preserving the incredible culture that has defined Astro Pak.”
“The company’s diversified and recurring revenue model, proprietary formulations, technical capabilities, and exceptional culture make it an ideal fit for our firm,” said Jack Nadal, a managing director at Stephens Group. “We look forward to working closely with the Astro Pak team to support their next phase of growth while maintaining their strong culture and legacy of excellence.”
“Astro Pak became a market leader through years of excellent, dedicated service to its customers,” said Witt Stephens, Jr., the CEO of Stephens Group. “We are excited to partner with Astro Pak and its people to continue that legacy and strengthen it even further in the future.”
Little Rock, Arkansas-based The Stephens Group is a family office that makes both minority and control investments in public and privately held companies. The firm’s sectors of interest include industrial products and services, specialty distribution, and vertical software sectors.
Houlihan Lokey served as the financial advisor to Astro Pak.
© 2025 Private Equity Professional | February 6, 2025
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