ACON Investments has sold Kept Companies, a provider of commercial and industrial cleaning services, to DFW Capital Partners.
Kept Companies is a national provider of mobile power washing, specialty cleaning, and facility maintenance services across over 130 company-owned and franchised locations in the United States.
The company’s services include truck and fleet washing, HVAC and refrigeration coil cleaning, solar panel washing, and retail and distribution center maintenance. Customers of Kept are active in the commercial, industrial, transportation, and government sectors. Kept was founded in 1973 by Jerry DiGiovanni and is now led by CEO Anthony DiGiovanni. The company is headquartered near New York City in Fairfield, New Jersey.
“We are grateful to ACON for their partnership and belief in Kept’s potential from day one,” said Anthony DiGiovanni. “ACON proved to be a great partner and we look forward to continuing our success with DFW.”
ACON acquired Kept Companies (then Fleetwash Holdings) in October 2018 from DFW in partnership with Fleetwash’s founders — Vito DiGiovanni and James DiCarlo — and members of the senior management team. At the time of ACON’s acquisition, Fleetwash operated 56 facilities across the United States and served approximately 6,000 customers ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.
DFW’s fourth fund had acquired Fleetwash in May 2014 from Transportation Resource Partners (TRP). In a prior fund, from 1999 to 2005, DFW held a minority investment in Fleetwash, prior to the sale of the company to TRP.
Under ACON’s ownership, Kept underwent a corporate rebranding in May 2023 and expanded through more than 30 add-on acquisitions, coupled with implementation of new technology systems that improve operational efficiency and service delivery.
“Our investment in Kept exemplifies ACON’s strategy of backing great businesses at pivotal inflection points and assisting them in reaching their next stage of development,” said Ken Brotman, a founding partner at ACON. “We are proud to have helped institutionalize and grow the company while preserving its entrepreneurial culture and customer-first mindset. It has been a pleasure working alongside Anthony and Jerry DiGiovanni and the entire Kept team to build a business positioned to lead its industry for years to come.”
Some of the company’s major acquisitions under ACON ownership include Tennessee-based CarePro National Painting (July 2024); Georgia-based Giant Enterprises (January 2024); Georgia-based EcoSweep (December 2023); Florida-based Reflections Window & Pressure Washing (May 2021); and Florida-based Spray-Wash (May 2021). In total, Kept has acquired 137 businesses since its founding in 1973.
“We are extremely proud of Kept’s growth and business transformation over the course of our ownership,” said Mo Bawa, a managing partner at ACON. “Working closely with Kept’s management team, we meaningfully diversified and expanded the company’s service offering, ultimately leading to a corporate rebranding and accelerated growth – both organic and through over 30 add-on acquisitions. We also implemented industry-leading operational and technology systems across the platform. We believe Kept is exceptionally well-positioned for its next phase of growth.”
ACON Investments invests in middle-market companies in the United States and Latin America. The firm was founded in 1996 and has offices in Washington, D.C. (headquarters) and Los Angeles, with international offices in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain.
New York City-headquartered DFW Capital Partners invests in service companies, with an emphasis on outsourced business and industrial support services, and healthcare companies that have revenues of up to $200 million and EBITDA up to $20 million. In January 2023, DFW held a final, oversubscribed, and hard cap close of DFW Capital Partners VII LP with $800 million of capital. Fund VII follows the firm’s sixth fund which held its first and final closing in April 2019 with $500 million of capital.
© 2025 Private Equity Professional | April 18, 2025
