Company Poised for Expansion in the Lawn Care Industry
August 19, 2009 Lawn Dawg, Inc. (formerly Campanella & Kelly, Inc.) based in Nashua, New Hampshire www.lawndawg.com announced today that Atlanta based Brighton Partners, LLC has completed a recapitalization of its lawn care operations acquiring a 70% stake in the business while providing significant working capital to fund the Company’s growth strategy. The Company will continue to operate under the well-established trade name “Lawn Dawg.”
Lawn Dawg provides professional lawn care services specializing in the application of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to residential and commercial customers. The new strategic partnership will provide Lawn Dawg with the resources to fund its planned expansion into new markets, as well as select acquisitions of well established lawn care companies in contiguous markets. Currently, Lawn Dawg operates four facilities serving 15,000 customers in the greater metropolitan markets of Boston, MA; Albany, NY; Nashua, NH; and Portland, ME.
Jim Campanella, a co-founder of Campanella & Kelly, will continue as the President of Lawn Dawg. He will also retain a significant ownership position in the Company as its largest individual shareholder. Campanella commented: “My goal has always been to build Lawn Dawg into a regional and eventually a national player by providing outstanding customer service and maintaining deep loyalty to my employees. This new partnership will provide the resources to realize that dream.”
In addition, Campanella noted: “There are many owners of smaller lawn care companies out there looking for the right exit strategy, but most want to avoid selling out to the big companies. For independent lawn care businesses, Lawn Dawg may represent an opportunity to join a recognized leader in the industry without compromising the basic values we all seem to share – – outstanding customer service, employee loyalty, and deep respect for the environment.”
The investment by Brighton Partners marks one of the first forays by a private equity investment firm into the regional lawn service industry. Dan Broos, a principal with Brighton Partners, commented: “Jim Campanella has built Lawn Dawg into a great regional business. He’s a very strong leader; he’s incredibly hard working, a good communicator, and well respected within the lawn service industry. With Jim’s vision and operating skill, we believe we can build a multi-region power and preserve Lawn Dawg’s core values.”
Brighton Partners, LLC www.bpequity.com is an Atlanta, GA based private equity investment firm focused on smaller, middle-market companies with sales revenue of $5 to $50 million. The transaction was facilitated by Mark Long with Columbus, OH based BlueSky Group, LLC www.blueskygrp.com and mezzanine funding provided by Chattanooga, TN based Tenth Street Capital Partners www.tenthstreetcapital .