The Halifax Group has acquired StrataTech Education Group, a provider of facility-based post-secondary education with a focus on the welding and heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) trades.
StrataTech serves approximately 3,200 students across two brands, Tulsa Welding School and The Refrigeration School (RSI). Tulsa Welding School trains students for careers in welding, air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and electronic systems at three campuses in Tulsa, Jacksonville, and Houston. The school was founded in 1949 and is the largest US welding school.
RSI operates one campus in Phoenix and trains students for careers in HVACR and welding. RSI was founded in 1965 and is one of the largest HVACR schools in the US. StrataTech is led by CEO Mary Kelly and is headquartered in Phoenix (www.stratatech.com).
“There is a growing need for both well-trained, highly-skilled trade workers and for the schools that train these students,” said Scott Plumridge, a partner at Halifax. “We have evaluated many companies in the for-profit education industry over the past decade and we believe StrataTech provides its students one of the highest-quality, highest-value educations available in the welding and HVACR sectors.”
Halifax partnered with the StrataTech senior management team on this investment. “Mary and the StrataTech team are superior operators, and we are excited to work together to execute on our shared strategic vision,” said David Bard, a managing director at Halifax.
“We are excited to partner with Halifax as we build out our platform,” said Ms. Kelly. “The financial and operational resources they bring to bear and their proven ability to work in partnership with management teams will allow us to expand our programs and serve more students.”
The Halifax Group invests from $25 million to $75 million of equity in companies with EBITDA from $8 million to $30 million and enterprise values from $50 million to $300 million. Sectors of interest include health and wellness, education, outsourced business services, franchising and infrastructure. The Halifax Group has offices in Washington, DC; Dallas, TX and Raleigh, NC (www.thehalifaxgroup.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | June 18, 2019