William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor to G.A. Fleet Associates and Fleet Pump (together, Fleet), in connection with its sale to Vessco Water (Vessco), a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors. The transaction was simultaneously signed and closed on April 22, 2024 and represents William Blair’s 15th specialty distribution transaction closed since 2023.
About the Companies
Fleet is a 60 plus year-old leading distributor of water infrastructure solutions in the New York tri-state area and has exclusive relationships with leading OEMs in the space. Fleet’s differentiated, engineering-centric model drives value for suppliers and customers as a critical link in the supply chain, underpinned by a unique consultative strategy that drives deep relationships across all stakeholders, and serves the water infrastructure needs of municipal and commercial & institutional markets. The company has been privately owned since its inception over 60 years ago.
Vessco is one of the largest full-service water treatment equipment distributors in the nation with equipment specialties covering every segment of the water and wastewater treatment industries. Individually, their companies represent leading manufacturers and are the leaders within the industry. Together they offer the most comprehensive product portfolio with value-added design support, aftermarket parts and services for municipal and industrial water markets.
Gryphon is a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively advantaged companies in the business services, consumer, healthcare, industrial growth, and software sectors. With roughly $9 billion of assets under management, the firm prioritizes investments in which it can form strong partnerships with founders, owners, and executives to accelerate the building of leading companies and generate enduring value through its integrated deal and operations business model.
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