Apax Partners has acquired Authority Brands, a North American franchisor of two home services brands, from Pittsburgh-based PNC Riverarch Capital.
Authority Brands is the parent company of two home services franchisors: The Cleaning Authority, which provides residential cleaning services to over 100,000 customers across the US; and Homewatch CareGivers, which delivers at-home services including elderly, disabled and after-surgery care, as well as help for those living with dementia. In total, Authority Brands operates over 300 franchises in the US, Canada and Latin America. The company is headquartered in Columbia, MD (www.thecleaningauthority.com) (www.homewatchcaregivers.com).
PNC Riverarch acquired The Cleaning Authority in September 2014 and added Homewatch CareGivers to the Authority Brands group in September 2017.
Apax intends to support the growth of Authority Brands, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, as it looks to expand internationally and offer additional services. It also presents digitization opportunities as Apax intends to leverage its experience in this area to help Authority Brands provide software, digital marketing and systems to support its franchise partners. “We have been attracted to the home services market for some time, due to its size, fragmentation and attractive growth rate,” said Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax Partners. “We have been impressed by Authority Brands’ established franchise network, experienced management, and strong track record of growth.
Authority Brands’ management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Rob Weddle, will remain with the company under Apax ownership. “We are very excited about the experience and depth the Apax team brings to this new partnership,” said Mr. Weddle. “Authority Brands has a vision to become the leading franchisor of home services by providing unparalleled business ownership opportunity to its franchisees and delivering first-class service to consumers. We are confident Apax shares in this vision and expect a bright future for Authority Brands.”
“We look forward to working with management and all franchise partners to accelerate growth, both organically and through M&A, as well as to leverage Apax’s significant experience in international expansion and digitization,” added Mr. Karandikar.
Apax invests in the technology and telecom; services; healthcare; and consumer sectors. The firm has eight offices located in London, New York, São Paulo, Munich, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Shanghai (www.apax.com).
PNC Riverarch invests from $10 million to $50 million in privately-held companies headquartered throughout North America. Sectors of interest include outsourced services, specialized manufacturing, and value-added distribution. PNC Riverarch is a division of PNC Capital Finance which in turn is a subsidiary of The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC). PNC Riverarch is based in Pittsburgh (www.pncriverarch.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 25, 2018