Service King Collision Repair Centers, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group and one of the largest independent US chains of automobile body repair centers, has entered into an agreement to be recapitalized by Blackstone. Carlyle and its co-investors and the management and employees of Service King, which first invested in the company in August 2012, will retain a significant minority stake in the company. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter.
Service King is one of the largest multi-shop operators of collision repair facilities in the country with 177 locations across 20 states. Service King was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Dallas (www.serviceking.com).
“We are excited to invest in Service King – an industry leader with an unparalleled commitment to its customers and focus on high quality service. We look forward to partnering with management, the company’s employee-owners, and Carlyle to support Service King’s continued growth and expansion,” said Peter Wallace, Blackstone Senior Managing Director.
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms. The firm’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge fund solutions, credit-focused funds and closed-end funds. Blackstone also provides various financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Blackstone is headquartered in New York (www.blackstone.com).
“In a fragmented industry, Service King has grown tremendously and Carlyle is proud to have supported their achievements. We will continue to support Service King’s business and growth strategy and we are pleased with the successes we have achieved together thus far during Carlyle’s investment period,” said Shary Moalemzadeh, Carlyle Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle Strategic Partners.
The Carlyle Group invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The firm employs approximately 1,600 people in 38 offices across six continents and is based in Washington, DC (www.carlyle.com).
Equity for Carlyle’s August 2012 investment in Service King came from the $1.1 billion Carlyle US Equity Opportunity Fund and the $700 million Carlyle Strategic Partners Fund III LP.
“We are grateful for our partnership with the skilled and knowledgeable teams at the Carlyle US Equity Opportunity Fund and Carlyle Strategic Partners,” said Chris Abraham, Service King’s Chief Executive Officer. “Service King’s recent growth is an example of Carlyle’s long-term approach to value creation and we look forward to working with our new partners at Blackstone to continue executing on our strategy.”
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-23-14