BY Fraser Tennant
In a $2.9bn deal it describes as an “excellent fit”, investment vehicle J2 Acquisition Limited is to acquire commercial life safety solutions and industrial specialty services provider APi Group, Inc.
A publicly-listed acquisition company that listed in October 2017, J2’s definitive agreement to acquire APi is its debut transaction.
Operating in over 200 locations across the US, Canada, and the UK, APi is the leading independent life safety services provider and a top-five specialty services contractor. Once the acquisition is complete, J2 plans to continue to build on APi's operating strengths with a focus on expanding the service portion of the business across its portfolio.
"The J2 team's decades of leadership experience operating large diverse businesses, broad industrial knowledge, and disciplined acquisition strategy – that they have employed successfully at previous companies and ventures – will be instrumental in further growing APi's inherent value and innovative, customer-centric approach over the long-term,” said Russell A. Becker, president and chief executive of APi .
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. Following closing, APi's existing management team will remain in place.
"We were immediately impressed by APi's management team, its strong culture and its commitment to leadership development, combined with consistent delivery of margins and cash flow at the high-end of its peer group over the years,” said James E. Lillie, co-founder of J2. “The business operates in resilient and dynamic markets with attractive growth drivers and we believe that, with the current management team, we can drive shareholder value by guiding the business to even better levels of performance and growth.”
Sir Martin E. Franklin, co-founder of J2, concluded: “We believe APi is an excellent foundation for J2's initial investment and is solidly in line with our disciplined investment criteria. We look forward to working with APi and to the strong growth opportunities ahead.”
News: Franklin's J2 blank check company buys APi Group for $2.9 billion