From the Editor – Are Large National Companies a Good Thing?
The pending merger of industry leaders The Brickman Group and The ValleyCrest Companies has triggered a great deal of discussion within the green industry as well as in the financial community. As you might expect, many landscape services company owners express strong opinions when it comes to the role of large national companies and whether they can provide the same level of service they can and do and whether the very existence of large national players is good or bad for the industry. After considerable reflection, I, for one, have become convinced that large players have a key role in the development and recognition of the industry taken as a whole. The capital attracted to the industry by high-profile transactions is significant and there is at least a trickle-down affect for the industry as a whole. In addition, the large companies shoulder their fair share or more of the cost of industry events and telling the industry’s story to the nation and its political leaders. We are seeing buy-side interest in the industry at levels we have not seen in quite a long time and that is partly due to the attention given to the large transactions. As always, if you are interested in buying or selling a green industry business, ready to begin exit planning or considering an exit strategy, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation.
Ron Edmonds 901-351-1510
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Brickman – Valley Crest
Merger Coverage
Thoughts on the Brickman-ValleyCrest Merger
With the news breaking that industry leaders The Brickman Group and the ValleyCrest Companies are nearing a tie-up, it is time to reflect on what this may mean for the landscape services industry.
Click here for seven first thoughts.
Tightened Banking Regulation Impacts Brickman-ValleyCrest Deal; Transaction is Progressing as Expected
New regulatory scrutiny of leveraged lending in connection with corporate buyouts has caused some banks that participated n the financing of KKR&Co.’s acquisition of The Brickman Group to sit out the financing for the follow-on merger between Brickman and ValleyCrest.
Click here for more information
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Recent Transactions
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Here is our monthly recap of recent merger & acquisition transactions in the green industry:
Charlesbook Capital Partners has acquired American Residential Services, Ltd. (ARS) ARS is the plumbing and HVAC business which is led by Don Karnes and Dave Slott, former top executives of TruGreen Lawncare. ARS employs many former TruGreen managers.
Evergreen Turf & Tree of Troy, Ohio, has merged with Powell’s Lawn Care and Andewrson Tree Tech.
Color Point, Inc., has signed a letter of intent to acquire Mid-American Growers. Both of these companies. Color Point ranks No.74 and Mid-American ranks No. 13 on the Top 100 Growers list.
McCall Service of Jacksonville, FL has acquired Enviro Pest Control, also of jacksonville. Both companies provide lawn care in addition to pest control and termite services.
Arizona-based Wheat Scharf Associates and LJ Design & Consulting have merged to form Wheat Design Group – Landscape Architects.
If you know of green industry business sales or mergers & acquisitions that should be reported here, please contact us.
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For a list of markets with businesses wanted, click here. The primary focus is commercial maintenance, but some design-build may be acceptable. There are also opportunities for lawn care businesses in many markets.
For a list of businesses for sale, click here. This list represents a portion of the projects we are working on which may be if interest.
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Short Takes
The Economist on the Landscape Industry
The Economist has published an article examining private equity investment in the US lawn and landscape industry. The article is entitled “America’s Gardening Business: Privet Equity.” Here’s a link to the article. Ron Edmonds of The Principium Group is quoted in the article.
Ron was also quoted in Lawn & Landscape and in an online article from Landscape Management.
Green Industry Conference
Registration is open for Planet’s Green Industry Conference, October 22-24, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. This year is the 25th anniversary for the Greenm Industry Conference. The educational offerings and networking events look great. There are several new educational offereings.
Ron Edmonds of The Principium Group will be speaking at the Green Industry Conference on Thursday afternoon from 3:00 to 4:15 pm on the following topic: Growing Your Green Industry Business with Acquisitions: How to Succeed in Negotiating Acquisitions that Grow and Strengthen Your Business
Book Ron Edmonds for Your Meeting
Contact us for information about booking Ron Edmonds to speak to your industry group or company meeting on green industry acquisition strategies, exit planning and similar topics.
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The Sellability Score is a quantitative tool designed to analyze how sellable your business is. After completing an online questionnaire, you will immediately receive a Sellability Score based on a 100 point scale along with instructions for interpreting your results. We will send you the full report along with a guide for interpreting the Sellability Score in the Green Industry. |