BETHESDA, MD – (July 27, 2022) Flow Service Partners (“Flow” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of RLJ Equity Partners (“RLJ”), an affiliate of The RLJ Companies, and LP First Capital (“LPFC”), announced today the acquisition R Brooks Mechanical Heating and Air Conditioning (“R Brooks”). This acquisition strengthens Flow’s technical capabilities and expands the Company’s geographic footprint into Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2001, R Brooks is a provider of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) services to commercial, federal, and residential customers. R Brooks is headquartered in Rising Sun, Maryland and recently opened a second location in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. R Brooks has a strong reputation for quality work, responsiveness, and good customer service, which has resulted in significant repeat business with its customer base.
“Partnering with Flow represents a transformational growth opportunity for R Brooks,” said Rich Brooks, President of R Brooks Mechanical Heating and Air Conditioning. “We are thrilled to partner with Flow, RLJ and LPFC and believe that this combination will be highly beneficial to our customers, employees, and communities that we serve.”
“The combination of Flow and R Brooks extends our geographic reach into the Mid-Atlantic states and opens up additional organic growth opportunities for the Flow platform,” said Michael Epperson, President & CEO of Flow Service Partners.
“R Brooks has a great reputation, particularly for quality work and customer service, which aligns perfectly with our vision for the Flow platform,” said Nigel Howard, Managing Director at RLJ Equity Partners. “We are excited about partnering with R Brooks and growing together.”
“This partnership will grow our service capabilities and allows us to provide outstanding quality and customer service to existing Flow and R Brooks customers,” said Thomas Ince, Managing Director at LP First Capital.
R Brooks represents Flow’s fourth acquisition, and the Company intends to continue pursuing additional add-on acquisition opportunities to build servicing scale in HVACR and plumbing as well as expand its geographic footprint, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast states.
RLJ provided the controlling equity for the transaction. Fifth Third Bank, NA and Brookside Capital Partners provided the transaction debt and equity co-investment to help facilitate the transaction. DLA Piper LLP served as legal advisor and LBMC served as financial advisor. eMerge M&A served as the sell-side advisor to R Brooks.
About Flow Service Partners (“Flow”): Headquartered in Nashville, TN, is a provider of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (“HVACR”) and plumbing services, including maintenance, repair, replacement/retrofit and installation services. Through its partners, Flow currently operates in Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and Pennsylvania and has approximately 325 employees. For more information, please visit www.flowservice.com.
About RLJ Equity Partners (“RLJ”): Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, RLJ Equity Partners is a middle-market private equity firm with approximately $440 million in capital under management focused on generating long-term capital appreciation by investing in profitable and growing businesses led by strong management teams. Founded in 2006 by Robert L. Johnson, RLJ originates and invests in traditional buyouts and leveraged recapitalizations. RLJ Equity Partners is a portfolio company of The RLJ Companies. For more information, please visit www.rljequitypartners.com.
About The RLJ Companies: Founded by Robert L. Johnson and headquartered in Bethesda, MD, The RLJ Companies is an innovative business network that provides strategic investments to a diverse portfolio of companies in the media and entertainment, financial services, real estate, hospitality, and gaming industries. Prior to founding The RLJ Companies, Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television. For more information visit: www.rljcompanies.com.
About LP First Capital (“LPFC”): Headquartered in Austin, TX, LP First Capital is a lower middlemarket private equity firm focused on the healthcare, business services and education industries. LPFC specializes in growth capital, platform roll-ups, buyouts, and recapitalizations. LPFC’s sweet spot is to partner with founder-led or family businesses and help them scale to the next level by providing industry operational expertise and the right capital structure. For more information, please visit www.lpfirstcapital.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
RLJ EQUITY PARTNERS
Nigel Howard, Managing Director, (240) 744-7835, nhoward@rljequity.com
