Clearlake Capital has sold all its remaining shares of Janus International Group (NYSE: JBI) and has now fully exited its investment in the company.
Clearlake acquired Janus from Saw Mill Capital in February 2018. In June 2021, Clearlake took Janus public through a merger with Juniper Industrial, a “blank check” company that traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol JIH. Following the Janus-Juniper combination, the stock traded under the symbol JBI.
Janus is a manufacturer and supplier of roll up and swing doors, hallway systems used in industrial and commercial facilities; and re-locatable storage units used in the self-storage industry. The company also provides design, consulting and installation services in support of its products.
Janus, led by CEO Ramey Jackson, has seven operating facilities in the US, three locations in Europe, two in Australia, and a joint venture in Mexico. The company’s US headquarters is located 40 miles west of Atlanta in Temple, Georgia; and its European headquarters is located near London in Twickenham, UK.
During Clearlake’s ownership term, Janus developed several new access control technologies (now sold under the Nokē brand) and closed seven add-on acquisitions including Georgia-based Asta Door (September 2017), UK-based Active Supply and Design (January 2018), North Carolina-based BETCO (January 2019), Utah-based Nokē (January 2019), Australia-based Steel Storage (January 2020), North Carolina-based Access Control (October 2021), and Georgia-based DCBI (July 2021).
“We are proud of the partnership with Clearlake and the experience and resources they dedicated to our business over the years,” said Mr. Jackson. “It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside their team to build Janus into the industrial technology platform it is today.”
For the full year 2023, Janus is estimated to have revenue of $1.1 billion (up 6% from the prior year) and Adjusted EBITDA of $285 million (up 25% from the prior year).
“We believe the growth and strategic transformation executed at Janus in partnership with management is a compelling story,” said José E. Feliciano, a co-founder and managing partner, and Colin Leonard, a partner, at Clearlake. “Our thesis to partner with Janus was centered around the company’s market position, value proposition, margins, and free cash flow, as well as the potential we saw for both organic and inorganic growth. Together with management, we achieved over 140% EBITDA growth and made investments to transition the business to a public company. Clearlake is proud to have partnered with CEO Ramey Jackson and his management team and looks forward to following the company’s future successes.”
“Janus is an example of our O.P.S. (Operations, People, and Strategy) value creation framework in action,” added Nate Mejías, a principal at Clearlake. “In a few short years, Ramey and his team executed an effective buy-and-build playbook, bolstered the management team, diversified the business, grew internationally, and led the adoption of additional technologies within the category.”
Clearlake invests in industrials and energy, software and technology-enabled services, and consumer sectors. The firm was co-founded by José Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali in 2006 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. In May 2022, Clearlake held a hard cap and oversubscribed final close of its seventh private equity fund, Clearlake Capital Partners VII LP, with $14.1 billion in commitments.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | January 19, 2024
