Ace buys service brands from private equity firm
Atlanta-based private-equity-investment firm Grove Mountain Partners sold Unique Indoor Comfort Holdings to Ace Hardware Corp.
Unique Indoor Comfort, based in King of Prussia, Pa., is a collection of HVAC specialty companies that began consolidating in June 2021, when Grove Mountain acquitted Moncrief Heating & Air, Unique Indoor Comfort of Philadelphia, and Werley Heating & Air. The company added nine other Eastern region companies in the HVAC space, including Clay's Climate Control, Detmer & Sons, Canella Heating & Air, A-Total Plumbing, All Phase Electrical, Dick Hill & Son, Carolina Custom, Rye Heating and Air, and Jackson Plumbing and Heating & Air.
Nate Kukla, CEO, and the entire management team, including the brand presidents, will continue to lead Unique Indoor Comfort Holdings as the company changes hands.
A spokesman for Oak Brook, Ill.-based Ace Hardware told HBSDealer the Unique Indoor brands will join the co-op’s Ace Home Services division.
In its short history, Unique Indoor experienced organic growth of over 20 percent, Google ratings of at least 4.8 and a Net Promoter Score of 80, according to the announcement from Grove Mountain Partners. All owners remained as presidents of their respective companies, a key tactic of the holding company.
"The Unique team has been outstanding, and we are incredibly appreciative of their efforts and accomplishments over the past two years," said Ransom James, Partner at Grove Mountain.
"Since our initial investment in June 2021, the Company completed nine add-on acquisitions and grew total revenue over 6x," said John Koch, chairman of Unique and Partner at Grove Mountain. “It’s incredible what a group of people focused on the customer experience with outstanding cultures can achieve in such a short period.”
Said Nate Kukla, CEO. "Now, we are excited to be part of the Ace team which will allow us to leverage their combined financial and operational capabilities and expertise. Since day one, Unique has been passionately dedicated to an employee-centric, high-integrity, and customer-focused culture. Ace shares in our mission and values and brings a plethora of resources to allow us to continue and grow the business.”
The transaction closed in April and terms of the deal were not available.
Cowen acted as a lead financial advisor and Citizens as co-advisor. DLA Piper LLC served as legal counsel to Unique and Grove Mountain.
