The Riverside Company has exited its investment in the Dwyer Group through a sale to Harvest Partners.  The Dwyer Group is a franchise holding company with 20 brands, including The Grounds Guys in the United States and Canada and Countrywide Grounds Maintenance in the United Kingdom. Here’s the press release: The Riverside Company has sold its investment in the Dwyer Group to Harvest Partners. Waco, Texas-based Dwyer is a holding company of 20 consumer brands, 17 of which are franchised service brands focused on residential and light commercial services. Riverside has a history with Dwyer dating to 2003, when it … Read more

John McCann sold The Bolt Supply House to Lawson Products (NASDAQ: LAWS) at the end of 2017. McCann’s strategy involved learning from the acquirers who knocked on his door. He invited would-be buyers into The Bolt Supply House and listened to what they had to say. He was not committed to selling, but instead wanted to know what they liked and what concerned them about his company. One giant European conglomerate, for example, approached McCann about selling, but after a thorough evaluation, they backed out of a deal, worried about McCann’s central distribution system. McCann thanked them for their time … Read more

Pioneer Landscape Centers has acquired Midwest Materials in the company’s second transaction of the year. The acquisition of Midwest Materials gives Pioneer a greater presence in the Colorado territory, expanding its reach to customers in a strategic location of the state. Located in Longmont, Colorado, Midwest Materials has been in business 30 years with community and customer service at the core of its values—something that seamlessly fits into Pioneer Landscape Center‘s vision. In addition to complementing Pioneer’s overall goal of becoming a household name, the acquisition of Midwest Materials bridges the distance between their Berthoud and Northern Denver locations, giving customers a more accessible and simpler way to obtain landscape products … Read more

BrightView Holdings, Inc., the parent company of BrightView Landscapes, LLC, filed a Registration Statement on Form S-1 on May 30, 2018 in connection with a potential public offering of its common stock.  This is rthe beginning of the registration process and there is no timetable for the completion of a public offering. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC  are the lead underwriters. According to the registration statement, KKR & Co and its affiliated funds own 75.8% of BrightView’s stock while MSD Capital and its affiliated funds hold 17.7%. We will be taking a closer look at the … Read more