July 02, 2025
Supports Leading Provider of Electric Utility Maintenance and Construction Services in its Mission to Address Growing US Power Demand and Needed Grid Improvements
The Sterling Group completed the sale of PowerGrid Services (“PowerGrid” or the “Company”) to Apollo (NYSE:APO). PowerGrid is a leading provider of maintenance and construction services to electric utilities across the United States. Existing investors, including The Sterling Group and management, will partner with Apollo to support the Company’s continued growth.
PowerGrid keeps the lights on across America by delivering essential utility services—from routine construction and maintenance to emergency response. With over 1,700 skilled in-house professionals and thousands more through its national vendor network, PowerGrid brings scale and speed to utility customers nationwide. Its hybrid service model supports construction, repair and maintenance of the full power grid, including transmission, distribution, substations and vegetation management. The Company’s safety-first culture and reliability has made it a go-to partner for grid modernization and resilience efforts in over 35 states.
Lincoln International acted as financial advisor to PowerGrid and its shareholders and Stifel acted as financial co-advisor while Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisor to Apollo on the transaction, while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel.
About PowerGrid Services
PowerGrid is a national provider of mission-critical electric utility services, offering a uniquely integrated platform across planned infrastructure work and rapid emergency response. Leveraging a hybrid service model that combines an in-house team of more than 1,700 skilled professionals with access to thousands of additional resources through our national vendor network, the company is built to respond quickly and safely when it matters most. PowerGrid supports the full electrical infrastructure lifecycle, providing construction, repair, and maintenance from distribution and transmission to substations and vegetation management. The Company’s commitment to safety and service excellence has made it a trusted partner for grid modernization, hardening, and event response to investor-owned utilities, municipalities, and co-ops across 35 states.
About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of March 31, 2025, Apollo had approximately $785 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets investments in manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 74 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has over $9 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
June 02, 2025
The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), a Houston, TX-based middle market private equity firm, today announced it has completed its previously announced sale of Artisan Design Group (“ADG”), a leading nationwide provider of design, distribution and installation services for interior surface finishes to home builders and property managers, to Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW).
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ADG operates 132 distribution, design and service facilities and coordinates installation through over 3,200 personnel across 18 states. Under Sterling’s ownership, ADG has completed 15 acquisitions, each of which was founder or entrepreneur owned. Sterling has a 40+ year history of partnering with founder- and family-owned industrial businesses.
Advisors
Centerview Partners LLC is acting as lead financial advisor to Lowe’s. Greenhill, a Mizuho affiliate, is also acting as financial advisor to Lowe’s. Covington & Burling LLP is acting as legal advisor to Lowe’s. RBC Capital Markets is acting as lead financial advisor to ADG. Goldman Sachs and Robert W. Baird are also acting as financial advisors to ADG. Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal advisor to ADG.
About Artisan Design Group
ADG provides design, distribution, and installation services for interior finishes including flooring, cabinets, and countertops to national and local homebuilders and property managers. Formed in 2016 by the merging of two industry leaders, ADG currently operates 132 distribution, design, and service facilities in 18 states, and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s is a FORTUNE® 100 home improvement company serving approximately 16 million customer transactions a week in the United States. With total fiscal year 2024 sales of more than $83 billion, Lowe’s operates over 1,700 home improvement stores and employs approximately 300,000 associates. Based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs focused on creating safe, affordable housing, improving community spaces, helping to develop the next generation of skilled trade experts and providing disaster relief to communities in need. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity and private credit investment firm that targets investments in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 74 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has $9.4 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements including words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “desire”, “project”, “estimate”, “intend”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “may”, “strategy”, “potential”, “opportunity”, “outlook”, “scenario”, “guidance”, and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve, among other things, expectations, projections and assumptions about future financial and operating results, objectives (including objectives related to environmental and social matters), business outlook, priorities, sales growth, shareholder value, capital expenditures, cash flows, the housing market, the home improvement industry, demand for products and services including customer acceptance of new offerings and initiatives, macroeconomic conditions and consumer spending and Lowe’s strategic initiatives, including those relating to acquisitions and dispositions and the impact of such transactions on our strategic and operational plans and financial results. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and we can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
A wide variety of potential risks, uncertainties, and other factors could materially affect our ability to achieve the results either expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the occurrence of any event or other circumstance that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement between Lowe’s and ADG, the failure to obtain the requisite approvals or to satisfy the other conditions to the proposed merger on a timely basis or at all, the possibility that the anticipated benefits and synergies of the merger are not realized when expected, or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of changes in general economic conditions, such as volatility and/or lack of liquidity from time to time in U.S. and world financial markets and the consequent reduced availability and/or higher cost of borrowing to Lowe’s and its customers, slower rates of growth in real disposable personal income that could affect the rate of growth in consumer spending, inflation and its impacts on discretionary spending and on our costs, shortages and other disruptions in the labor supply, interest rate and currency fluctuations, home price appreciation or decreasing housing turnover, age of housing stock, the availability of consumer credit and of mortgage financing, trade policy changes or additional tariffs, outbreaks of pandemics, fluctuations in fuel and energy costs, inflation or deflation of commodity prices, natural disasters, geopolitical or armed conflicts, acts of both domestic and international terrorism, and other factors that can negatively affect our customers.
Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties, risks and potential events including, but not limited to, those described in “Item 1A – Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and as may be updated from time to time in Item 1A in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or other subsequent filings with the SEC. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these statements other than as required by law.
LOW-IR
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May 21, 2025
The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), announced that it has completed the sale of West Star Aviation (“West Star” or the “Company”), a highly-regarded provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (“MRO”) for business aviation aircraft to funds managed by Greenbriar Equity Group, L.P. (“Greenbriar”). Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Since its founding in 1947, West Star has built a reputation as a premier service provider for business aviation. The Company offers comprehensive MRO capabilities across aircraft manufactured by every major OEM and maintains the largest aircraft on ground (“AOG”) technician network nationally, ensuring prompt and reliable mobile repair services. Supported by a deeply knowledgeable and experienced management team, West Star remains focused on delivering excellent customer service and quality.
“In partnership with Sterling, West Star has continuously worked to deliver exceptional service to its customers, while growing to better support the business aviation market,” said Stephen Maiden, CEO of West Star. “As we embark on this next phase, Greenbriar’s extensive experience and proven track-record in expanding aviation aftermarket platforms will be invaluable to us. With their support, we aim to not only accelerate our progress and enhance our capabilities but also ensure that our dedicated employees and the unique needs of our customers remain at the forefront of everything we do.”
“We would like to thank Stephen and the entire West Star team for placing their trust in Sterling and for all of their work in building West Star into a market leader over the past several years,” said John Griffin, Partner at The Sterling Group.
“West Star is an exceptional business with comprehensive capabilities and a strong customer value proposition that aligns with Greenbriar’s strategy of partnering with market leading aviation and aerospace businesses poised for growth,” said Noah Blitzer, Managing Director at Greenbriar. “We are excited to partner with Stephen and his team to continue building on West Star’s legacy as a premier MRO provider delivering high quality service to its customers.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel and Evercore served as financial advisor to Greenbriar. Harris Williams LLC and Jefferies LLC served as co-lead financial advisors to West Star; Solomon Partners also advised on the transaction. Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to West Star.
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About West Star Aviation
With more than 78 years of industry experience, West Star Aviation stands as a leading independent Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) provider. Employing over 3,000 professionals, West Star offers comprehensive services from our strategically located full-service facilities in East Alton, IL; Grand Junction, CO; Chattanooga, TN; Millville, NJ; Perryville, MO; and Statesville, NC, as well as multiple satellite locations. The company’s extensive capabilities encompass airframe maintenance, paint, interior, and avionics services, supported by the largest Aircraft On Ground (AOG) technician network in the country, ensuring prompt and reliable mobile repair services nationwide.
About Greenbriar
Greenbriar is a middle market private equity firm with 20+ years of experience investing in market-leading services and manufacturing businesses. With $10+ billion of cumulative capital commitments, its investment strategy targets businesses led by experienced management teams capitalizing on strong long-term growth prospects that can benefit from Greenbriar’s deep sectoral expertise, strategic insight, and operating capabilities. For more information, please visit greenbriarequity.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets investments in manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 74 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has $9.4 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
May 13, 2025
Supports Leading Provider of Electric Utility Maintenance and Construction Services in its Mission to Address Growing US Power Demand and Needed Grid Improvements
Apollo (NYSE:APO) today announced that Apollo-managed funds and affiliates associated with its hybrid strategies (the “Apollo Funds”) have agreed to acquire a majority stake in PowerGrid Services (“PGS”), a leading provider of maintenance and construction services to electric utilities across the United States. The Apollo Funds will partner with existing PGS investors, including company management and The Sterling Group, to support PGS’s continued growth.
PowerGrid Services keeps the lights on across America by delivering essential utility services—from routine construction and maintenance to emergency response. With over 1,400 skilled in-house professionals and thousands more through its national vendor network, PGS brings scale and speed to utility customers nationwide. Its hybrid service model supports construction, repair and maintenance of the full power grid, including transmission, distribution, substations and vegetation management. PGS’s safety-first culture and reliability has made it a go-to partner for grid modernization and resilience efforts in over 35 states.
Quentin Gillette, CEO of PGS, and Beth Gillette, PGS Board Member and Strategic Advisor, said, “We are thrilled to announce this transaction with Apollo, which marks an exciting milestone for our company. We founded PGS with a clear vision to be a trusted utility partner dedicated to solving challenges, strengthening our nation’s electric grid and improving quality of life in the communities where we operate. Apollo’s operational and strategic support will help us level up our capabilities and growth while remaining true to our culture and core mission of providing safe and reliable services to our customers. We are also grateful for The Sterling Group’s support over the past several years.”
Craig Horton, Partner at Apollo, said, “We are proud to partner with Quentin, Beth and the entire PGS leadership team to support PGS’s growth as a trusted partner to electric utility customers across the US. Apollo is focused on meeting the capital needs of industries that are driving a Global Industrial Renaissance, and we believe PGS is well positioned to help meet the growing demand for power across the country through its contributions to grid stability and electric infrastructure. The investment by the Apollo Funds enables us to bring the considerable resources of the Apollo platform to bear to help accelerate PGS’s geographic expansion, both organically and through its targeted acquisition strategy.”
Kent Wallace, Partner at The Sterling Group, said, “Since 2021, our team has worked closely with PGS’ leadership group to help the company triple in size and deliver the infrastructure needed to meet critical electric grid services. We look forward to supporting the company’s continued success.”
The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisor to the Apollo Funds on the transaction, while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel.
Lincoln International acted as financial advisor to PGS and its shareholders, including management and The Sterling Group, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel.
About PowerGrid Services
PowerGrid Services (“PGS”) is a national provider of mission-critical electric utility services, offering a uniquely integrated platform across planned infrastructure work and rapid emergency response. Leveraging a hybrid service model that combines an in-house team of more than 1,400 skilled professionals with access to thousands of additional resources through our national vendor network, the company is built to respond quickly and safely when it matters most. PGS supports the full electrical infrastructure lifecycle, providing construction, repair, and maintenance from distribution and transmission to substations and vegetation management. The company’s commitment to safety and service excellence has made it a trusted partner for grid modernization, hardening, and event response to investor-owned utilities, municipalities, and co-ops across 35 states.
About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of March 31, 2025, Apollo had approximately $785 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets investments in manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 74 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has $9.4 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
April 14, 2025
The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), a middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has agreed to sell Artisan Design Group (“ADG” or the “Company”) to Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) for $1.325 billion. ADG is a leading nationwide provider of design, distribution and installation services for interior surface finishes, including flooring, cabinets and countertops, to national, regional, and local homebuilders and property managers.
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ADG operates 132 distribution, design and service facilities and coordinates installation through over 3,200 personnel across 18 states. “Since initially partnering with co-founders Larry Barr and Wayne Joseph in 2018, Sterling has been proud to support ADG during a period of significant growth and expansion,” said Johann Friese, Director at The Sterling Group. Under Sterling’s ownership, ADG has completed 15 acquisitions, each of which was founder or entrepreneur owned. Sterling has a 40+ year history of partnering with founder- and family-owned industrial businesses.
ADG will expand Lowe’s Pro offering into a new distribution channel within a highly fragmented, approximately $50 billion market. “With more than 18 million homes needed in the United States by 2033, we expect new home construction will be a major driver of Pro planned spend for the next decade. The acquisition of ADG allows us to build on our momentum with Pro planned spend and is expected to expand our total addressable market by approximately $50 billion,” said Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO. “With its strong, customer-centric operating model, ADG has become an industry leader with best-in-class customer satisfaction scores from the top builders in the U.S. We look forward to welcoming the ADG team to Lowe’s, and, through our combined capabilities, enhancing our offering to our expanded Pro customer base.”
“We are thrilled for ADG to join forces with Lowe’s,” said Steve Margolius, ADG’s CEO. “Our leading position in flooring, cabinets and countertops, combined with Lowe’s scale and category breadth, will allow us to continue on our growth trajectory while providing an even more differentiated and comprehensive offering to the builders and property managers we serve today.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. RBC Capital Markets is acting as lead financial advisor to ADG. Goldman Sachs is also acting as financial advisor to ADG. Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal advisor to ADG.
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About Artisan Design Group
ADG provides design, distribution, and installation services for interior finishes including flooring, cabinets, and countertops to national and local homebuilders and property managers. Formed in 2016 by the merging of two industry leaders, ADG currently operates 132 distribution, design, and service facilities in 18 states, and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity and private credit investment firm that targets investments in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 74 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has $9.4 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s is a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company serving approximately 16 million customer transactions a week in the United States. With total fiscal year 2024 sales of more than $83 billion, Lowe’s operates over 1,700 home improvement stores and employs approximately 300,000 associates. Based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs focused on creating safe, affordable housing, improving community spaces, helping to develop the next generation of skilled trade experts and providing disaster relief to communities in need. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements including words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “desire”, “project”, “estimate”, “intend”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “may”, “strategy”, “potential”, “opportunity”, “outlook”, “scenario”, “guidance”, and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve, among other things, expectations, projections and assumptions about future financial and operating results, business outlook, priorities, sales growth, shareholder value, the housing market, the home improvement industry, demand for products and services including customer acceptance of new offerings and initiatives. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and we can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
A wide variety of potential risks, uncertainties, and other factors could materially affect the ability to achieve the results either expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the occurrence of any event or other circumstance that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement between Lowe’s and ADG, the failure to obtain the requisite approvals or to satisfy the other conditions to the proposed merger on a timely basis or at all, the possibility that the anticipated benefits and synergies of the merger are not realized when expected, or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of changes in general economic conditions. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Lowe’s does not undertake any obligation to update these statements other than as required by law.
March 05, 2025
The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), a middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the sale of Frontline Road Safety (“Frontline” or the “Company”) to Bain Capital. Frontline is the largest provider of pavement marking and ancillary services in the U.S. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Denver with over 50 locations across the U.S., Frontline specializes in providing essential, non-discretionary road marking and other roadway safety services to keep our nation’s most critical infrastructure safe and operational. Frontline leverages the knowledge and execution of its regional businesses alongside the benefits of national scale to deliver superior service to its customers.
Sterling launched the Frontline platform in 2020 with the near-simultaneous acquisitions of three founder-led regional pavement marking firms. Sterling recruited Mitch Williams, the CEO of a previous Sterling portfolio company, to lead the newly formed management team. Nate Reeve, a member of the Sterling investment team, moved to Denver for a year to assist in establishing the corporate headquarters function and the infrastructure required to build and scale Frontline. During Sterling’s ownership, Frontline completed nineteen total acquisitions, seventeen of which were of family or entrepreneur-owned businesses. Sterling’s experience partnering with family sellers and history of sharing economics with employees were important factors in building Frontline.
“Since launching the Frontline platform in 2020, Sterling has been proud to support the Company’s tremendous growth and expansion,” said Brad Staller, Partner at Sterling. “We would like to thank Mitch, the excellent field leaders, and the entire Frontline team for their leadership and partnership in building Frontline. We believe the Company remains well-positioned to continue expanding its services and geographic footprint.”
Harris Williams LLC and Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as financial advisors, and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Frontline Road Safety. Stifel and UBS Investment Bank acted as financial advisors, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Bain Capital.
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About Frontline Road Safety
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Frontline Road Safety Group is the nation’s largest provider of pavement marking services. Frontline proudly serves a wide variety of customers and industries, including airports, government agencies, public highways, roads, and private corporations. Committed to a deep local operational leadership strategy, Frontline’s team members have decades of industry experience and technical expertise at every level. Through a team of best-in-class local operating companies, Frontline serves customers across the United States. These companies have an unmatched reputation and average of over forty years of successful experience building long-term relationships with their customers.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity and private credit investment firm that targets investments in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 73 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has $9.2 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
February 23, 2024
The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), a middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the sale of Evergreen North America Industrial Services (“Evergreen”) to Quanta Services. Evergreen is a leading provider of specialized and recurring environmental solutions for a diverse range of blue-chip industrial businesses and mission critical infrastructure.
Sterling created Evergreen through the combination of family owned, New York based North American Industrial Services and Houston based Evergreen Environmental Services. Since the combination, Evergreen has continued to expand its footprint and grow its ability to serve customers with its solutions nationally. Combined with Quanta Services leadership in specialty infrastructure solutions, Evergreen is poised to continue its track record of delivering the highest quality services to its customers.
Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel and BlackArch Partners served as financial advisor to Evergreen and Sterling.
About Evergreen North America Industrial Services
Evergreen is a leading provider of environmental solutions to the downstream and midstream energy, industrial, and chemical sectors. With a customer-centric culture and employees committed to safety, integrity, accountability and adaptability, Evergreen serves a diverse set of end markets, including refining, power generation, petrochemical, manufacturing, mining, waste-to-energy, and pulp & paper at locations throughout North America. Additional information about Evergreen is available at www.enais.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity and private credit investment firm that targets investments in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $1 billion. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 67 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $22 billion. Sterling currently has over $6 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.
December 03, 2021
The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the sale of Time Manufacturing Holdings, LLC (“Time Manufacturing Company”, or “Time”) to an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”). Headquartered in Waco, Texas, Time Manufacturing Company is a global designer, manufacturer, and distributor of vehicle-mounted aerial lifts for electric utility, telecommunications, infrastructure, and forestry end markets.
Sterling acquired Time in 2017 from a family who had owned the business for over forty years. Sterling recruited key additions to a strong team, led by Curt Howell, to lead Time during its next phase of growth. Over the past five years, Sterling has invested heavily in team additions, technology improvements, manufacturing efficiencies, and commercial initiatives. Through nine acquisitions, Time also entered new end markets, expanded the company’s presence in Europe, and improved its aftermarket service capabilities. Time has been transformed into a global leader with stronger margins and a proven track record of growth.
“Time is a great example of a classic Sterling investment,” said Brad Staller, a Partner at The Sterling Group. “We partner with management teams and family sellers across all aspects of a business to drive growth and build winning businesses. We would like to thank Curt and the entire management team for their exceptional leadership and execution.”
“Sterling’s partnership and support enabled Time to reach new levels of profitability,” said Curt Howell, CEO of Time Manufacturing Company. “We are excited to continue building on the company’s success in partnership with H.I.G.”
The Sterling Group has decades of experience partnering with management teams to execute family-owned business transitions, like Time. Approximately 75% of Sterling platform investments in the last five years have involved partnerships with family or entrepreneur owned or operated businesses.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel, and Baird acted as the lead financial advisor to Sterling and Time, with D.A. Davidson & Co. also serving as a financial advisor to Sterling and Time.
About Time Manufacturing Company
Time Manufacturing Company is a global manufacturer of bucket trucks, digger derricks, cable placers, truck bodies, buckets, and other specialty equipment for electric utility, telecommunications infrastructure, bridge inspection, tree care, and other fleet-supported industries. Selling via the Versalift, BrandFX, Aspen Aerials, Ruthmann, Steiger, Ecoline and Bluelift brands, the Company employs more than 2,000 associates worldwide. For more information, visit https://timemfg.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 61 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $14.0 billion. Sterling recently closed its fifth investment fund with $2.0 billion in commitments and currently has over $5.7 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit sterling-group.com.
November 10, 2020
The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the sale of Highline Aftermarket Holdings, LLC (“Highline”) to Pritzker Private Capital. Highline is a leading national distributor and manufacturer of automotive aftermarket products.
Sterling formed Highline in 2016 through the simultaneous acquisitions of DYK Automotive, owned by the Dobbs’ family office and AAHC, a corporate carve-out from Marubeni. In bringing together these two businesses, and through five subsequent acquisitions, Sterling built a leading company in the distribution and manufacture of consumables in the automotive aftermarket.
“Sterling’s deep experience in distribution and value added, hands-on approach to partnering with our management team, was instrumental in building Highline from a group of separate legacy businesses into an integrated, functionally organized, efficient market leader taking advantage of numerous growth opportunities,” said Darcy Curran, Highline CEO.
“Working with Sterling, Darcy Curran and the entire Highline team drove exceptional execution,” said Gary Rosenthal, a Partner at The Sterling Group. “During Sterling’s ownership, Highline has more than tripled in size, with every aspect of the business experiencing investment and significant improvement. Additionally, consistent with Sterling’s practice, a large number of Highline employees became equity holders and will benefit substantially from the transaction.”
The Sterling Group has almost four decades of experience partnering with management teams to execute corporate carve-outs and family owned business transitions. Over the last five years, five of Sterling’s new platforms, like Highline, have been formed through the initial simultaneous acquisition of two or more companies.
About Highline Aftermarket
Headquartered in Memphis, TN, Highline Aftermarket is a leading national distributor of automotive products, with fifteen distribution centers and eight manufacturing facilities serving multiple channels across the aftermarket industry. With more than 500 employees, Highline serves as a critical link between manufacturers and customers, offering a robust portfolio of national brands, original-equipment replacement products, private-label goods, and in-house chemical blending and packaging. Highline is the leading manufacturer of windshield wash in the U.S.
Additional information about Highline Aftermarket is available at www.highlineaftermarket.com.
About The Sterling Group
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 57 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $14.0 billion. Sterling recently closed its fifth investment fund with $2.0 billion in commitments and currently has over $4.0 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.
October 08, 2020
The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Highline Aftermarket Holdings, LLC (“Highline”) to Pritzker Private Capital. Highline is a leading national distributor and manufacturer of automotive aftermarket products. The transaction is expected to close by December 2020.
Sterling formed Highline in 2016 through the simultaneous acquisitions of DYK Automotive, owned by the Dobbs’ family office and AAHC, a corporate carve-out from Marubeni. In bringing together these two businesses, and through five subsequent acquisitions, Sterling built a leading company in the distribution and manufacture of consumables in the automotive aftermarket.
“Sterling’s deep experience in distribution and value added, hands-on approach to partnering with our management team, was instrumental in building Highline from a group of separate legacy businesses into an integrated, functionally organized, efficient market leader taking advantage of numerous growth opportunities,” said Darcy Curran, Highline CEO.
“Working with Sterling, Darcy Curran and the entire Highline team drove exceptional execution,” said Gary Rosenthal, a Partner at The Sterling Group. “During Sterling’s ownership, Highline has more than tripled in size, with every aspect of the business experiencing investment and significant improvement. Additionally, consistent with Sterling’s practice, a large number of Highline employees became equity holders and will benefit substantially from the transaction.”
The Sterling Group has almost four decades of experience partnering with management teams to execute corporate carve-outs and family owned business transitions. Over the last five years, five of Sterling’s new platforms, like Highline, have been formed through the initial simultaneous acquisition of two or more companies.
ABOUT HIGHLINE AFTERMARKET
Headquartered in Memphis, TN, Highline Aftermarket is a leading national distributor of automotive products, with fifteen distribution centers and eight manufacturing facilities serving multiple channels across the aftermarket industry. With more than 500 employees, Highline serves as a critical link between manufacturers and customers, offering a robust portfolio of national brands, original-equipment replacement products, private-label goods, and in-house chemical blending and packaging. Highline is the leading manufacturer of windshield wash in the U.S.
Additional information about Highline Aftermarket is available at www.highlineaftermarket.com.
ABOUT THE STERLING GROUP
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 57 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $14.0 billion. Currently, Sterling has over $4.0 billion of assets under management.
For more information, please visit sterling-group.com.
The Sterling Group is an operationally focused middle market private equity firm that builds winning businesses for customers, employees and investors.
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