Aterian Investment Partners has made an investment in PJ Mechanical, a provider of mechanical construction, engineering, and maintenance services for technically complex HVAC systems in the greater New York City market.
PJ Mechanical specializes in providing its services to high-rise office towers, corporate complexes, sports stadiums, and hospitals. Some of the projects the company has worked on include Memorial Sloan Kettering, Hudson Yards, WTC Transit Hub, JFK Airport, Bank of America LEED Tower, The Plaza Hotel, Citi Field, the New York Times building, and LaGuardia Airport.
PJ Mechanical was founded in 1971 by Peter J. Pappas and has approximately 500 employees. According to the company, it is the largest HVAC contractor in the New York metropolitan area and among one of the largest mechanical contracting firms in the northeastern United States. PJ Mechanical is headquartered in New York City (www.pjmechanical.com).
“We are very excited to partner with the Aterian team on the company’s next phase of growth,” said Peter and Jamie Pappas, presidents of PJ Mechanical and second-generation owners, in a released statement. “We believe Aterian is the right strategic and financial partner to both preserve the legacy and culture of the business our father built, while also working with us and the rest of the team to further enhance our position as the leading mechanical contractor in New York City.”
“We are excited to partner with Peter and Jamie Pappas and the rest of the PJ Mechanical team,” said Michael Fieldstone, a co-founder and partner at Aterian. “PJ Mechanical is unique in that it has a full-suite of capabilities to provide energy-efficient HVAC systems across a variety of end markets. We look forward to supporting management in executing on the company’s strategic initiatives, preserving its family-like culture and serving its customers at the highest level possible.”
“In addition to the company’s established construction business, it has a leading maintenance and technical building services segment, which uniquely positions the company within the New York City market,” added Daniel Phan, a principal at Aterian.
Aterian invests up to $65 million in small-to-middle market businesses with $25 million to $500 million in revenues. The firm’s sectors of interest are wide and include manufacturing, distribution, chemicals, metals and mining, industrials, retail, consumer products, restaurants, food and beverage, and health care services. Earlier this year, in April, Aterian acquired The Pace Companies, a Brooklyn, NY-based provider of plumbing, HVAC, and fire protection services. Pace specializes in both new construction and retrofit projects and works directly with many of New York’s largest general contractors.
Aterian held a first and final closing of Aterian Investment Partners III LP with $350 million of committed capital in July 2018. The firm was founded in 2009 by Brandon Bethea, Michael Fieldstone and Christopher Thomas and is based in New York (www.aterianpartners.com).
FMI Capital Advisors was the financial advisor to PJ Mechanical on this transaction. The FMI team was led by Managing Director Ryan Foley and Associate Dylan Faust. Kirkland & Ellis and PricewaterhouseCoopers were the advisors to Aterian.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | September 16, 2019
