Commerical HVAC repair services

Southfield Builds ARC

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American Refrigeration Company, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, has acquired Capitol Engineering, a provider of HVAC services.

Capitol Engineering’s services include system design, installation, monitoring, maintenance and repair. The company serves commercial and industrial customers throughout New England.

Capitol Engineering was founded in 1937 by Clarence Chaisson and acquired by long-time employee John Frugard in 2009. The company is headquartered near Boston in Newton, Massachusetts.

Southfield acquired American Refrigerator Company (ARC), the largest independent industrial refrigeration service company in New England, in November 2017. ARC’s services include refrigeration and air conditioning system design, construction, equipment installation, and maintenance and repair services. The company’s customers are active in the food and beverage, cold storage, recreation, life sciences, pharmaceutical, and process industries.

“We have been working to find opportunities to grow the HVAC service offering at ARC,” said Chris Grambling, a principal at Southfield. “The buy of Capitol provides an exciting expansion of ARC’s HVAC capabilities in New England, enabling ARC to expand its client base and provide additional HVAC services to existing ARC customers.”

Other services provided by ARC include alternative refrigerant evaluations, freezing and cooling response assessments, energy studies, and compliance consultation. ARC, led by President Bill Fleming, was founded in 1996 and is headquartered north of Boston in Andover, Massachusetts (www.arc.cool).

“We’re delighted to welcome Capitol Engineering to the ARC family,” said Mr. Fleming. “Adding Capitol Engineering’s leadership, engineering depth, and experience to our existing team will undoubtedly enhance the HVAC service and maintenance solutions we currently provide to the region.”

Southfield Capital makes control investments in companies that are active in the outsourced business services sector and have EBITDA of $4 million to $12 million. The firm was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | February 23, 2021

Audax Buys Reedy

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Audax Private Equity has acquired Reedy Industries in partnership with the founding Reedy family and the company’s management team.

Reedy Industries is a provider of commercial HVAC services and mechanical services to commercial, industrial, and municipal buildings in the Midwest. The company has more than 6,000 customers and is a market leader within the Chicagoland area and also services the surrounding states of Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Reedy Industries was founded in 1930 by Thomas “TJ” Reedy and today is led by CEO Bill Reedy with a headquarters near Chicago in Glenview, IL (www.reedyindustries.com).

“We are excited to be partnering with Audax for the next stage of our growth,” said Mr. Reedy. “We have always put our people and customers first, and Audax is committed to investing in our strong culture and our ability to serve the customer. Audax also brings expertise and resources that will help us continue to build our position in the market through strategic acquisitions and growth initiatives.”

“Reedy Industries is a leader in the commercial, mechanical, and HVAC services market within the Midwest,” said Don Bramley, a managing director at Audax. “We believe the company is poised for growth as it continues to expand its presence throughout the United States. We look forward to supporting Bill, and the entire Reedy team, as they continue growing the business organically and through acquisitions.”

Audax invests in middle market companies that have from $8 million to $50 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $50 million to $400 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; energy; healthcare; technology, media and telecom; and industrials including chemicals, infrastructure and building materials. Audax has offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco (www.audaxgroup.com).

Metronome Partners (www.metronomepartners.com) was the financial advisor to Reedy Industries.

The buy of Reedy follows the March 2019 sale by Audax of Source Refrigeration Holdings (DBA CoolSys) to Ares Management. CoolSys, headquartered near Los Angeles in Brea, CA, is the parent of company of a number of refrigeration and HVAC companies nationwide that provide commercial refrigeration and HVAC services to food retailers, convenience store chains, commercial and industrial companies (www.coolsys.com).

© 2019 Private Equity Professional | May 8, 2019