ClearLight Partners has acquired Moore Landscapes, a provider of landscape installation and maintenance services.
Moore Landscapes provides landscape installation, maintenance and enhancement services; snow and ice management; and interior plant maintenance services to companies, homeowner associations, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1948 by Floyd Moore and has been led by Floyd’s sons, Victor and Eric Moore, since the 1980s. Victor and Eric will remain equity holders in the company and will join the company’s board of directors. Moore Landscapes is based in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, IL (www.moorelandscapes.com).
In connection with the investment, Joel Korte – a former Senior Vice President with The Brickman Group, a large commercial landscape services provider owned by KKR – has also invested in the company and was named Moore’s new CEO. Mr. Korte was with Brickman from 2004 to 2015. At Brickman he was directly responsible for operations in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and western Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota markets which included 32 individual business branches totaling $300 million in revenue. During that time he merged four add-on acquisitions into the business over a 10 year period. He began with Brickman in 2004 after he sold his company, Urban Environments, which he founded in 1993, to Brickman.
“Victor and Eric Moore have built a great organization and we believe the company is well positioned for continued growth and success. We believe Joel Korte is a fabulous addition to an already talented team and look forward to supporting him and the entire team,” said Andrew Brennan, a Partner at ClearLight and also a former senior executive at commercial landscape services firm Valley Crest Companies. Valley Crest was acquired by The Brickman Group in June 2014.
ClearLight Partners invests from $10 million to $50 million in US or Canadian based middle market companies with revenues from $25 million to $250 million and EBITDAs from $4 million to $15 million. Sectors of specific interest include specialty manufacturing and distribution; business services; and consumer products and services. The firm has $900 million of assets under management and is based near Los Angeles in Newport Beach, CA (www.clearlightpartners.com).
“Moore Landscapes has long had a culture of going above and beyond to serve its clients, which has created an outstanding reputation and strong trust-based relationships with a discriminating customer base,” said Mr. Korte. “The management team and field teams have incredible tenure and experience and a reputation for delivering consistently high quality service. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such a highly skilled team and to contribute to the next stage of growth of Moore.”
Moore Landscapes was represented by CCG Advisors, an Atlanta-based investment banking firm (www.ccgadv.com). Managing Partner Brian Corbett led the transaction for CCG.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | May 19, 2017
