Citation Capital buys pest control business; Susquehanna portco adds auto repair company

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Citation Capital buys pest control business; Susquehanna portco adds auto repair company

Morning Hubsters, Craig McGlashan here with the Tuesday Wire.

We’ve got another scoop to open the newsletter today, as we report that Citation Capital has bought a pest control services company. The private equity firm’s Tiffany Hagge and Lydie Hudson talks us through the deal, their plans for the business and why the wider pest control industry is attractive.

Citation isn’t alone in seeing potential in pest services. We look at some recent add-on deals by portfolio companies of HCI Equity Partners and Thompson Street Capital Partners.

We’ve also got a deal to report in another busy sector – auto repair. This time it’s Quality Collision Group, which is backed by Susquehanna Private Capital, acquiring a Texas-based luxury auto body repair business.

Finishing up, we’ve got a reminder about PE Hub’s exciting expansion next week.

From DIY to ‘do it for me’

PE Hub’s Rafael Canton broke the news this morning that Citation Capital has acquired Aptive Environmental, a pest control services company.

Read the premium version of the Wire to find out Citation’s plans for the business as well as what attracted the firm to the pest control sector.

Pest platforms

Citation isn’t the only private equity firm to have noticed growth potential in the pest control industry.

Find out more in the premium version of the Wire.

Busy times

Speaking of busy sectors, Quality Collision Group, which is backed by Susquehanna Private Capital, has acquired Hance’s Uptown Collision Center, a Texas-based luxury auto body repair business.

Auto repair has seen plenty of action from private equity firms of late. That includes Tail End Capital Partners, which invested in a continuation fund managed by Stellex Capital Management to support the growth of Fenix Parts, a recycler and reseller of OEM automotive parts.

Michael Schoeck also rounded up some of last year’s deals in this listicle in January.

Expansion

In case you missed last week’s announcement, PE Hub is broadening its scope with new, in-depth coverage of European deals. Tune in, Wednesday, September 4, for the latest insights, key transactions, and expert analysis from across the European private equity landscape.

Whether you’re looking to stay on top of the market or find your next big opportunity, our expanded European deals coverage will keep you ahead of the curve.

Reach out to subscriptions@pei.group to book a no-obligation tour of PE Hub’s newly expanded deals coverage.

Right, that’s all from me today. Rafael Canton will be in the chair tomorrow.

Cheers,

Craig

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Hull Street Energy, led by former Energy Capital Partners executive Sarah Wright, is raising a third buyout offering to invest in the power industry. The Bethesda, Maryland, firm disclosed a $1.5 billion target for Hull Street Energy Partners III in a presentation to New Mexico State Investment Council. (Buyouts)

K1 Investment Management will use acquisitions to boost Board Intelligence’s growth in US and Europe markets that are “hungry” for products that improve efficiency, managing partner Hasan Askari and Board Intelligence co-CEOs Jennifer Sundberg and Pippa Begg told PE Hub Europe.

Liesel Pritzker Simmons and Ian Simmons, co-founders of the single family office Blue Haven Initiative, trailblazed the total-portfolio approach to impact investing. (New Private Markets)

Texas Municipal looks to scale co-investments with trio of senior hires: The new joiners, including ex-CDPQ senior director Philip Hunter O’Brien, will operate from the $41bn system’s Austin headquarters, CIO Yup Kim tells Private Equity International.

Negotiations over the future of Pluralsight Inc, an educational software company, have reached a successful conclusion, according to news reports confirmed for Private Debt Investor by a person familiar with the matter. A consortium of private credit lenders led by Blue Owl will take ownership. Blue Owl declined to comment.

Amid a difficult fundraising environment, emerging manager Oncology Ventures was able to raise $30 million for its inaugural fund in about 16 months. (Venture Capital Journal)

They said it

“Pest control is a very attractive category within the residential services sector. It has a very large addressable market and grows consistently in both price and volume. There are a few drivers of growth including increasing millennial homeownership, people spending more time at home and a shift away from ‘do it yourself’ to ‘do it for me.'”

— Tiffany Hagge, founder and managing partner, Citation, on the acquisition of Aptive Environmental