Dive Brief:
- Private equity firm Gryphon Investors is acquiring specialty HVAC manufacturer AirX Climate Solutions, or ACS, from another private equity player, L Catterton, in a deal slated to wrap by year-end.
- Gryphon says the investment will broaden ACS’ geographic footprint, help the company execute strategic acquisitions and expand its aftermarket and service offerings, according to a Sept. 27 release.
- Gryphon’s “depth of knowledge in HVAC and network of executive advisors will open several avenues for our next phase of growth,” ACS CEO Rick Aldridge said in the release.
Dive Insight:
Headquartered in Oklahoma City with over 600 employees, AirX Climate Solutions designs, manufactures, distributes and services products for specialty HVAC markets including data centers, energy storage, educational institutions, telecommunications firms and commercial and industrial businesses. ACS has a manufacturing presence in Houston; Cordele, Georgia; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, with brands that include Custom Air Products & Services, Marvair, Specific Systems, Eubank, Industrial Climate Engineering and Dynaline.
As part of the acquisition, Aldridge and other members of the management team will reinvest in ACS, along with Gryphon Investors, and will continue to manage the company. Mark Fuller, managing director of Gryphon’s industrial growth group, and group co-heads Scott Hearn and Leigh Abramson will join ACS’ board of directors, according to the release.
Hearn and Abramson pointed to the strength of ACS’ platform as a springboard to further its leadership position in a large and highly fragmented HVAC market.
Despite this fragmentation, partnerships in this space have proliferated recently. Brainbox AI is partnering with Trane Technologies on automated HVAC decarbonization controls; Modine has struck a deal with TMS Johnson on a suite of HVAC applications targeting school indoor air quality; and Optimum Energy signed a multi-year agreement with Tignis on a closed-loop HVAC solution to detect operational anomalies in smart buildings earlier this year.
Consolidation in the HVAC industry can be beneficial for facilities managers and HVAC technicians looking to upgrade or replace outdated and energy-inefficient equipment, noted Dan Arant, manager of North America at the energy and ESG division of Brightly, a Siemens-owned company, which works with commercial facilities managers.
As “big behemoths” vying for industry space compete with one another, facilities managers may not need to contend with an overabundance of HVAC equipment options that can breed indecisiveness, Arant said in an interview. “So, you might actually see a quick adoption of technology when there are fewer choices,” he said.
Gryphon’s acquisition of ACS is its fourth investment in the HVAC value chain since 2020. It sold HVAC company Heritage Distribution Holdings earlier this year.
