ORIX Capital Partners has acquired Hoffman Southwest Corp., a provider of water flow inspection, repair, and cleaning services from Sterling Partners which acquired the company in July 2015.
Hoffman Southwest (HSW) provides underground pipe inspection, trenchless pipe repair, excavation and cleaning services for municipal and utility customers under the Pro-Pipe brand; and plumbing, drain cleaning, trenchless pipe repair and water restoration services for commercial and residential customers as the largest franchisee of the Roto-Rooter brand. HSW operates 12 Roto-Rooter branches in five states: California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Texas. The company was founded in 1947 as a franchisee of Roto-Rooter and in 1992 the company established Pro-Pipe which now operates eight west coast branch locations. HSW is headquartered in Mission Viejo, CA (www.hswcorp.com) (www.pro-pipe.com).
HSW’s senior management team, including CEO Mark Burel and CFO Bruce Lux, will continue to lead the company and provide strategic direction under ORIX ownership. “We look forward to working with ORIX, as they provide a depth of capital and resources needed to achieve our vision for continued future growth,” said Mr. Burel. “Together we have the ability to focus on organic growth initiatives, geographic expansion and strategic acquisitions.”
ORIX Capital Partners (ORIX CP) invests from $50 million to $150 million of equity capital per transaction in North America based middle-market companies. The group will invest across a range of industries and special situations. Areas of specific interest include business services, retail, consumer, industrials, telecommunications and technology. ORIX CP is led by President and CEO Yoshiteru “Terry” Suzuki, who previously served as Co-CEO of Cerberus Japan from June 2002 to March 2015. Click HERE for the ORIX CP website).
“Our country’s aging infrastructure will drive enormous demand for underground infrastructure risk mitigation as municipalities and utilities work to ensure our pipes are functioning safely and properly for the public,” said Mr. Suzuki. “We will seek strategic add-ons which will complement HSW’s historically strong organic growth and support Mark’s team in building a long-standing legacy, known for customer-focused service, safety, technology and industry leading insights and initiatives.”
ORIX CP is part of ORIX Corporation, a Tokyo-based, publicly traded financial services company with operations in 35 countries worldwide (www.orix.com).
Sterling Partners, the seller of Hoffman Southwest, focuses on investing growth capital in small and mid-market companies in industries with positive, long-term trends, including education, healthcare, and business services. Sterling manages over $4 billion in institutional capital. The firm was founded in 1983 and has offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami (www.sterlingpartners.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 15, 2017
