Odyssey has taken a majority stake in the packaged gas platform, which has made Southern California distributor Encore Gas & Supply its first acquisition.
Falcon was formed to acquire regional distributors of packaged gases including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, acetylene, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen and propane. These gases are typically filled into high-pressure cylinders and delivered to customers that are too small to justify a storage tank or pipeline.
September 24, 2026|John McNulty
Odyssey Investment Partners has made a majority investment in Falcon Gases, a packaged industrial gas distribution business formed in late 2025 to acquire independent distributors. At the same time, Falcon has acquired Encore Gas & Supply, a Southern California distributor of cylinder gases and welding supplies.
Encore is Falcon’s first acquisition, making Falcon a new platform for Odyssey. Encore has been owned by its founders since it opened in 2014.
Falcon was formed to acquire regional distributors of packaged gases including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, acetylene, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen and propane. These gases are typically filled into high-pressure cylinders and delivered to customers that are too small to justify a storage tank or pipeline. Falcon’s target markets include industrial, medical and specialty gases, bulk and microbulk supply, and welding supplies.
Industrial gases generally reach customers in three ways. Large users such as refineries, chemical plants and semiconductor fabs receive gas by pipeline or from plants built on-site. Mid-sized users receive liquefied gas by tanker truck. Smaller customers, including welding shops, laboratories, hospitals and manufacturers, buy packaged gas in cylinders that distributors fill, deliver, collect and rent back to them.
Falcon’s strategy is to keep acquired distributors operating under their existing names and local management while providing capital and corporate support for organic growth and additional acquisitions.
Falcon is led by CEO Pete Jeffe, who co-founded Hawkwood Energy in 2010. The Colorado- and Texas-based oil and gas producer grew from one employee to $300 million of EBITDA during his 10 years with the company. Mr. Jeffe later served as CEO of StratosFuel, a Southern California renewable hydrogen developer.
Chief Commercial Officer Chris Granger spent more than 40 years at Union Carbide and Praxair, now part of Linde, and retired as the vice president responsible for Praxair’s packaged gas business in the South. Vice President of Projects Steve Morton was previously vice president of US operations at Linde and Praxair. Mr. Morton and Chief Financial Officer Eric Friedman, a former investment professional at New Mountain Capital, also worked with Mr. Jeffe at StratosFuel.
Pete Jeffe
“These transactions create a strong foundation for Falcon to execute its strategy of becoming a high-growth, well-capitalized, and large-scale independent packaged gas distribution platform,” said Mr. Jeffe. “We now have the ideal partners in place to build Falcon into a market leader, with Odyssey’s track record of supporting and growing industrial businesses, and Encore’s proven track record, outstanding reputation, and customer service.”
Encore supplies pure gases, including argon used to shield welds from the air and acetylene used in cutting torches, as well as custom blends, calibration gases used to test laboratory instruments and ultra-high-purity gases. Products are delivered in cylinders, insulated containers for liquefied gases and through microbulk systems, which use small on-site tanks refilled by truck and sit between cylinder delivery and full bulk supply.
Encore also sells welding machines, filler metals, abrasives, power tools and safety equipment from major manufacturers, and repairs welding robots, plasma cutters and gas regulators. Its customers include aerospace manufacturers, analytical laboratories, contractors, healthcare providers, food and beverage producers, metal fabricators and motorsports teams.
Encore was founded in 2014 as Encore Welding and Industrial Supply by Ben Anderson, who had spent 30 years in the industry, and owner Kelly Park. Long Beach, California-headquartered Encore, led by Mr. Anderson as president, also operates branches in Ontario, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, and Valencia, about 35 miles northwest of the city.
“We are excited to partner with Pete and the Falcon team to build a leading packaged gas and welding platform,” said Mr. Anderson. “As Encore enters its next phase of growth we will continue with the core belief that has made us successful to date: invest in customers, people, and assets, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Estimates of the US industrial gas market vary widely depending on how the sector is defined. Grand View Research puts the market at $12.8 billion in 2025 and projects 8.5% annual growth to $24.2 billion by 2033. Nova One Advisor estimates the market at $27.3 billion in 2024 and $49.8 billion by 2033, a 6.9% annual growth rate.
Airgas, founded in 1982 by Peter McCausland and headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, operates about 1,400 locations and has been owned by France’s Air Liquide since its $13.4 billion acquisition in 2016. Nippon Sanso Matheson, founded in 1927 as Matheson Gas Products and headquartered in Irving, Texas, has been owned by Japan’s Nippon Sanso Holdings since 1989. Linde, formed through the 2018 combination of Praxair and Germany’s Linde AG, is also a major US supplier of packaged gases.
Below these large suppliers is a long tail of regional and often family-owned distributors, and private equity has been consolidating the sector. AEA Investors-backed Meritus Gas Partners, formed in December 2020, has assembled more than 25 distributor partners, including Dallas-based Metroplex Welding Supply in July 2026 and Tempe, Arizona-based Allied Gases & Welding Supplies in September 2026. Raleigh, North Carolina-based American Welding & Gas, whose roots date to 1949, operates more than 100 locations across 22 states and describes itself as family and employee owned.
“Our approach is focused on not just acquiring businesses but forming partnerships with owners and managers to work cohesively to build Falcon together,” said Mr. Jeffe. “Encore and Ben stand out as the perfect foundational partnership, and we are very excited to build with them. Encore has a track record of growth, exceptional customer service, and a deep belief that people and relationships are what drive success.”
The Encore acquisition gives Falcon an established Southern California cylinder gas business and fill plant from which to consolidate a fragmented market of regional distributors.
Henry Bendit
“Odyssey is proud to support the Falcon management team as it embarks on what we believe is an exciting growth initiative in the packaged gas sector,” said Henry Bendit, a managing principal at Odyssey. “Our firm has a long history of investing in industrial distribution that will be highly valuable as the talented executives from Falcon and Encore build something unique within this market.”
Odyssey invests $100 million to $300 million of equity in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $1 billion and EBITDA of $20 million or more. The firm makes majority-control investments primarily in North America. Sectors of interest include aerospace and defense, industrial services, packaging, safety products, specialty chemicals and specialty distribution, as well as business services including testing and certification.
Odyssey is investing from its sixth fund, which closed at its $3.25 billion hard cap in February 2020, up from $2 billion for its fifth fund in 2014. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Odyssey has raised $8.3 billion since inception.
“Odyssey is the ideal investment partner for Falcon,” concluded Mr. Jeffe. “Their deep capital base combined with their experience in similar businesses, and people-first approach is the perfect fit for the platform we are building.”
Falcon is Odyssey’s second new platform of 2026, following its July investment in TransPak, a San Jose, California-based provider of crating and packaging for fragile, high-value equipment. In January, Odyssey completed the $1.3 billion sale of testing and inspection company Applied Technical Services to SGS.
