Blackstone Acquires Majority Stake in SERVPRO

6/18/2019 (Permalink)

Blackstone Group (BX +1.8%) emerges as the winner in an auction for SERVPRO Industries, and is close to acquiring the company for more than $1B including debt, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

SERVPRO, of Gallatin, Tenn., operates a network of more than 1,700 franchisees that specialize in fire, water, mold and other cleanup services for residential and commercial customers. The closely held company was founded in 1967 by Doris Isaacson and her late husband, Ted Isaacson, as a painting business and is currently run by their eldest child, Susan Steen.

Blackstone's long-dated private-equity fund, which can hold companies for up to 20 years, will execute the acquisition of the closely held company, which operates more than 1,700 franchisees specializing in fire, water, mold, and other cleaning services for residential and commercial companies.

Part of the rationale behind the deal is that Blackstone, which owns 232m square feet of office space and 300,000 residential units and homes, can become a major SERVPRO customer.