Aurora Capital Partners has recapitalized PSC Group, a provider of repair and logistic services to the petrochemical industry, in partnership with TJC.
Aurora first invested in PSC in July 2019 and has reinvested in the company through its fifth fund, Aurora Equity Partners V LP, alongside TJC.
PSC Group (formerly Petroleum Service Corporation) is a product handling and site logistics services provider to the petrochemical, refining, midstream, and marine transportation sectors.
PSC’s operating model uses customers’ facilities and customer equipment, and its capabilities include tankering barges, operating docks, switching railcars, railcar repair and storage, handling material packaging and warehousing, loading and unloading tank cars and tank trucks with a variety of refined fuel products and chemicals. Tankering services involve the loading, unloading, and handling of liquid cargoes on ships. Tankermen oversee these operations, ensuring proper procedures, safety measures, and documentation.
Since partnering with Aurora in 2019, PSC has closed six add-on acquisitions that grew its on-site logistics capabilities across North America and expanded its service offerings to include railcar repair and railcar storage, and sustainability through its advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, which opened in 2022.
The two most recent add-ons were the January 2024 buy of Bayport Rail Terminal, a 115 acre and rail, truck, and container terminal located in the Port of Houston that provides last mile logistics infrastructure and services to the chemical industry; and the May 2023 buy of Steel Line Rail, a Texas-based provider of railcar repair, inspection and valve maintenance services to the petrochemical, refining, and railcar leasing industries in the United States and Mexico. The four earlier add-on acquisitions were Prokar (June 2021), Fryoux Tankerman Service (December 2020), Akrotex Extrusion (March 2022), and Thermoplastics Services (March 2022).
PSC, led by CEO Joel Dickerson, was founded in 1952 and was the nation’s first tankerman service provider. Today, the company has more than 4,500 employees working at more than 150 refineries, terminals, docks, and chemical plants across the US and Canada. The company is headquartered near Houston in Pasadena, Texas.
“When we partnered with Aurora, not only were we aware of their reputation and track record of success working closely with companies like PSC to accelerate their growth trajectory, but we felt a true alignment with our culture and servant leadership approach as well,” said Mr. Dickerson. “Aurora has been very active and highly supportive in executing on what has been an exciting period of growth at PSC, and we are grateful for their strategic insights and guidance, which has enabled us to significantly expand our offerings and better serve our long-tenured customers. We are excited to remain aligned with Aurora as we partner with TJC to continue to expand and grow as leaders in our industries.”
“From the onset of our investment in PSC, Joel Dickerson and the rest of the PSC team have been exceptional partners in helping execute Aurora’s Strategy & Operations Program to expand the company’s geographic footprint and portfolio of industry-leading service offerings across North America,” said Matthew Laycock, a partner at Aurora. “We are extremely proud of the transformational growth PSC has realized over the past five years, which has enabled the company to further evolve into a full-solution outsourced logistics partner for the essential, growing petrochemical market. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue partnering with PSC alongside Joel and the TJC team on the many organic and inorganic opportunities we see across the business.”
Aurora Capital makes control investments of $50 million to $300 million in industrial, manufacturing, and service-oriented businesses that are valued between $100 million and $500 million. Specific sectors of interest include industrial services and distribution, engineered products, and technology-enabled services. Aurora Capital was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Los Angeles.
“We are sincerely thankful that Joel and his team selected Aurora to be their partners. When we initially met Joel in 2019, we believed that PSC was a great business with an exceptional customer-focused, collaborative, and mission-driven culture. The management team proved this repeatedly by smoothly maneuvering through macroeconomic volatility such as COVID-19 shocks, inflationary pressure, and supply chain disruptions,” said Andrew Wilson, a partner at Aurora. “The PSC team’s stable execution during turbulent times created the opportunity for us to successfully implement our buy and build strategy and further scale the platform while others paused expansion initiatives. We are confident that Joel and the PSC team have strengthened their foundation even further and have a long runway of growth ahead.”
TJC (formerly The Jordan Company) is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in a range of industries including industrials, transportation and logistics, healthcare, consumer, telecom, technology, and utilities. The firm was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Chicago and Stamford.
Harris Williams was the lead financial advisor to PSC on this transaction with DC Advisory, Piper Sandler & Co., and Wells Fargo Securities working as co-financial advisors.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | April 10, 2024
