Nov 2, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Audax Private Equity Announces the Acquisition of Ecolab’s Equipment Care Business

Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) announced that it has acquired Ecolab’s Equipment Care business from Ecolab Inc. (“Ecolab”). Equipment Care, headquartered in St. Paul, MN, is a leading provider of commercial kitchen repair, maintenance services, and parts to the U.S. commercial food service industry. Equipment Care services 40,000 locations across 25 states with 500 technicians and 400 subcontractors and distributes 25K SKUs of OEM and private label parts. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Geoffrey S. Rehnert, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Audax Group, said, “Ecolab’s Equipment Care is a leader in the kitchen equipment repair industry. We look forward to working with Bill Emory and the rest of the Equipment Care team to build a leading platform organically and through add-on acquisitions.”

Bill Emory, Chief Executive Officer of Equipment Care, said, “We are excited to be partnering with Audax for the next phase of Equipment Care’s growth. Audax provides expertise, resources, and valued experience in the industrials sector that will help us grow through strategic acquisitions.”

Ropes & Gray LLP served as counsel to Audax.

ABOUT AUDAX PRIVATE EQUITY

Since its founding in 1999, Audax Private Equity has been focused on building leading middle market companies. Audax has invested $4 billion in 108 platform and 623 add-on companies. Through its disciplined Buy & Build approach, Audax seeks to help platform companies execute add-on acquisitions that fuel revenue growth, optimize operations, and significantly increase equity value. Audax Private Equity is an integral part of Audax Group, an alternative asset management firm specializing in investments in middle market companies. With offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, Audax Group has over $11.5 billion in assets under management across its Private Equity, Mezzanine, and Senior Debt businesses. For more information, visit the Audax Group website, www.audaxgroup.com.

ABOUT ECOLAB

A trusted partner at more than one million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. With 2016 sales of $13 billion and 48,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions and on-site service to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies for customers in the food, healthcare, energy, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world.