CIVC Partners has formed Specialized Elevator Services Holdings to acquire San Francisco Elevator, Ascent Elevator, and Specialized Elevator. All three companies are providers of elevator maintenance and repair services.
Specialized Elevator Services Holdings (SESH) has offices in Dublin, CA (near San Francisco), Los Angeles and San Diego. The combined operations of SESH provide services to the three largest metropolitan areas in California covering 90% of the state’s elevator units (www.specializedelevator.com) (www.sfelev.com) (www.ascentelevator.com).
The existing management teams of the three companies will remain in place following the acquisition by CIVC and will have an equity interest in the business. Donovan McKeever, the founder of San Francisco Elevator, will remain a significant owner and serve as president of SESH. CIVC has recruited Robert Williams, who has more than 30 years of industry experience including holding senior positions with Otis Elevator Company, to be CEO of the new platform.
“I am excited to partner with the teams at San Francisco Elevator, Ascent Elevator, and Specialized Elevator to continue building on their remarkable success through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions,” said Mr. Williams.
Another member of the SESH executive team is Greg Goulette, the former CEO of ICON Identity Solutions, a past CIVC portfolio company. Mr. Goulette has been brought on as executive chairman of SESH to support the development of the platform. ICON, a provider of exterior and interior branding and signage including installation, repair, maintenance, and renovation services, was acquired by CIVC in 2007 and sold in 2016 to Merit Capital Partners.
“This is a unique opportunity to bring together leading independent elevator service providers and create one of the largest platforms in the country,” said J.D. Wright, a partner at CIVC. “We have been targeting the industry for several years searching for the right platform and are thrilled to get to work with Robert, Greg, Donovan and the rest of the management team.”
CIVC invests from $15 million to $80 million in US or Canadian-based companies that have EBITDA from $4 million to $20 million. Sectors of interest include utility and infrastructure services; facility services; transportation and logistics; outsourced business services; environmental services; IT services; healthcare services; software and technology-enabled services; and financial services. The firm is currently investing from its fifth fund, CIVC Partners Fund V LP, which closed at its hard cap of $400 million in May 2017. CIVC was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Chicago (www.civc.com).
Lift Business Advisors (www.liftbusiness.com), which specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory for independent elevator contractors and elevator industry suppliers, was the financial advisor to San Francisco Elevator, Ascent Elevator, and Specialized Elevator.
Ropes & Gray (www.ropesgray.com) was the legal advisor to CIVC on this transaction
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | May 17, 2019