After Active Ownership, Sterling Exits Frontline Road Safety
March 11, 2025|John McNulty
The Sterling Group has sold Frontline Road Safety, a provider of pavement marking and related services, to Bain Capital.
Frontline offers line striping for highways and airports, thermoplastic and epoxy pavement markings, and other traffic control services. Its customers include government agencies, transportation departments, private corporations, and infrastructure contractors.
Source: Frontline Road Safety
Frontline Road Safety was formed in August 2020 by The Sterling Group as a new road safety platform. At its inception and shortly thereafter, Frontline completed three key acquisitions: Stripe-A-Zone, a Dallas-based, family-owned business and one of the largest pavement marking service providers in Texas; Apply-A-Line, a Washington-based provider of road and airport striping services primarily in the Northwest United States; and Griffin Pavement Striping, an Ohio-based provider of road, highway, and airport line striping. Under Sterling’s ownership, Frontline completed a total of 19 acquisitions, including 17 family- or entrepreneur-owned businesses, expanding its geographic reach and service capabilities.
Source: Frontline Road Safety
Today, Frontline, headquartered in Denver, operates more than 50 locations across the United States and employs over 1,750 people. According to the company, it is the largest provider of pavement marking and ancillary services in the country.
“Since launching the Frontline platform in 2020, Sterling has been proud to support the company’s tremendous growth and expansion,” said Brad Staller, a partner at Sterling. “We would like to thank Mitch, the excellent field leaders, and the entire Frontline team for their leadership and partnership in building Frontline. We believe the company remains well-positioned to continue expanding its services and geographic footprint.”
“We have reached an inflection point in our evolution as a leading platform for road safety solutions,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Frontline Road Safety. “We believe Bain Capital, with its proven track record of building true market leaders in services and distribution, is the right partner to enable us to accelerate our growth and support the value we deliver to our partners at DOT and large private construction contractors.”
“Frontline is a high-quality business providing mission-critical services, led by a proven management team that has done an impressive job of growing the business through a series of acquisitions and organically, while maintaining a commitment to operational excellence,” said Joe Robbins, a partner at Bain Capital. “We look forward to a collaborative partnership with Mitch and his talented team to help accelerate Frontline’s acquisition strategy and scale the company’s best-in-class platform.”
The Sterling Group invests in manufacturing, industrial services, and distribution companies, primarily corporate carve-outs and family businesses, with enterprise values ranging from $100 million to $750 million. The Houston-based firm employs an operational approach in collaboration with management teams to grow and improve its portfolio companies. In April 2024, The Sterling Group held an oversubscribed, above-target, and hard-cap close of its sixth fund, Sterling Group Partners VI LP, with $3.5 billion in capital.
Bain Capital was founded in 1984 and invests in companies across the healthcare, consumer/retail, financial and business services, industrials, and technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. The firm operates across multiple asset classes, including credit, public equity, venture capital, and real estate, and manages total assets of $185 billion. Bain Capital has approximately 320 investment professionals and maintains offices globally.
The Sterling Group has sold Frontline Road Safety, a provider of pavement marking and related services, to Bain Capital.
“Since launching the Frontline platform in 2020, Sterling has been proud to support the company’s tremendous growth and expansion,” said Brad Staller, a partner at Sterling. “We would like to thank Mitch, the excellent field leaders, and the entire Frontline team for their leadership and partnership in building Frontline. We believe the company remains well-positioned to continue expanding its services and geographic footprint.”
“Frontline is a high-quality business providing mission-critical services, led by a proven management team that has done an impressive job of growing the business through a series of acquisitions and organically, while maintaining a commitment to operational excellence,” said Joe Robbins, a partner at Bain Capital. “We look forward to a collaborative partnership with Mitch and his talented team to help accelerate Frontline’s acquisition strategy and scale the company’s best-in-class platform.”
