Fairfield-based Groome Industrial Service Group, a portfolio company of Argosy Private Equity, on Tuesday said it acquired W-S Cos. Inc., based in Iowa.
Founded in 1993, W-S is one of the country’s largest veteran-owned and -operated industrial and mechanical services companies. Comprised of eight entities, W-S has offices throughout the Midwest and Gulf Coast, serving a diverse client base, including power, food & beverage, refining, utilities, chemical, manufacturing, pulp and paper, municipal, upstream and downstream.
“We are excited for W-S to join the Groome team, creating a bigger and better specialty maintenance company with an even stronger nationwide presence. Both companies provide a service mix that is complementary to one another while also offering unique specialty services. This acquisition now gives Groome one of the broadest offerings in the industry,” Jeff Bause, CEO and president of Groome, said.
When asked about the provider of specialty maintenance services across a range of industrial markets joining forces with W-S, Keven Shanahan, managing partner at Argosy Private Equity, said: “We are thrilled about the combination of Groome and W-S. Given Groome’s experience with previous acquisitions, we have confidence in the team’s demonstrated ability to execute integration plans. The consolidated companies now offer a comprehensive suite of services delivered on a national scale. This acquisition not only strengthens Groome’s position in the market, but also underscores our commitment to providing unparalleled value and support to its clients.”
Integration is already underway, led by a newly formed integration team. Management from both Groome and W-S, along with the integration team and Argosy are actively working on executing Argosy’s Value Acceleration Methodology acquisition toolkit to integrate the operations, realize synergies between the companies and seek to grow the combined company.
Seacoast Capital and Ironwood Capital also provided subordinated debt and an equity coinvestment in support of the transaction.
