CenterGate Capital has acquired Owen Equipment Company, a dealer of new and pre-owned municipal environmental equipment used for sewer maintenance, hydro/vacuum excavation, street cleaning and waste management applications.
Owen carries many industry leading equipment brands including Vactor, HXX, Elgin, Heil, Rigid, Cues, and Sonetics. The customers of the company include municipalities and other government entities, as well as industrial and commercial companies located in six western states. Owen also provides repair and maintenance services and has three full-service locations in Portland, OR; Kent, WA; and Fairfield, CA. In addition, Owen maintains one of the industry’s largest rental fleets of sewer maintenance, hydro/vacuum excavation and street cleaning equipment.
Owen was founded as Ben-Ko-Matic (a broom manufacturing equipment company) in 1958 and became an Elgin dealer in 1982 and a Vactor dealer in 1995. The company, acquired by Earl Rose in 2006, is headquartered in Portland, OR (www.owenequipment.com).
Under CenterGate ownership, Owen will continue to be led by Mr. Rose and he will also join the company’s board of directors. “We are excited about our partnership with CenterGate and what it means for our employees, customers and vendors,” said Mr. Rose. “CenterGate’s investment will provide us the capital and strategic resources to continue to grow our market presence, capability set and geographic reach.”
“We are excited to partner with Earl and the entire Owen team. The management team has an impressive history of success and a compelling vision for the future. We look forward to helping them execute on that vision. Due to its strategic customer relationships and longstanding partnerships with notable brands in the industry, we believe Owen is uniquely well-positioned to continue to be successful,” said Lewis Schoenwetter, a Managing Director at CenterGate.
CenterGate Capital invests in lower middle market companies that have from $20 million to $250 million of revenue and up to $20 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business services, industrials, energy services, consumer, and healthcare. In December 2016, the firm held an above target and oversubscribed final closing of CenterGate Capital Partners I LP with $350 million of capital commitments. CenterGate is headquartered in Austin (www.centergatecapital.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | December 3, 2018
