LXP Capital Seeks New Investment

Atlanta, January 2025 Happy New Year! We hope this message finds everyone well and having enjoyed a fantastic holiday season with your loved ones. LXP is excited for 2025 and is actively looking for its next partnership opportunity. LXP focuses on direct, partnership-oriented investments through single-purpose funds, utilizing the proven successful philosophies and capital deployment strategies of its senior partners. Investment Focus: LXP believes every transaction and company is unique in its own right. LXP will utilize flexible, curated capital structures to partner with strong customer service-oriented, U.S.-based companies with motivated, equity-oriented management teams in the professional services, light manufacturing, and distribution industries. Preferred size characteristics include revenue of $10 to $80 million and EBITDA of $2 to $8 million. Leadership Experience: LXP’s lead deal partners, Giny Mullins and Jeff Piper, bring an average of 25 years of experience investing in and growing lower middle market companies. LXP leverages this experience, along with strong relationships with operating professionals, to identify and invest first institutional capital in high-potential platform companies with the goal of supporting their growth and driving value for all investors. Building Value: Leveraging our extensive transaction experience, we faithfully deploy our network, our capital, and our operational resources to create portfolio value. Our mission centers around an unyielding commitment to the growth and success of our partner businesses, leading with culture-building, employee empowerment, management and stakeholder alignment, and direct, transparent communication. If you or your client is looking for an experienced and collaborative investment partner, please reach out directly to get the conversation started! Please see our overview here which outlines our focus. Contact Information (www.lxpcapital.com) Giny Mullins Jeff Piper Managing Director Managing Director gmullins@lxpcapital.com jpiper@lxpcapital.com 404.788.4005 773.910.4799

 

LXP Capital Building Momentum

Atlanta, July 2024 After officially launching in 2023, LXP successfully closed its first investment in April 2024, launched our new website, and is actively looking for its next partnership opportunity. LXP focuses on direct, partnership-oriented investments through single-purpose funds, utilizing the proven successful philosophies and capital deployment strategies of its senior partners. New Investment: Our recent partnership with Black Creek Integrated Systems is a great example of the type of partnerships we seek – economically aligned investments in growing, entrepreneurial, niche services businesses that prioritize differentiated offerings, top quality customer service, business reinvestment, and market expansion. Investment Focus: LXP believes every transaction and company is unique in its own right. LXP will utilize flexible, curated capital structures to partner with strong customer service-oriented companies with motivated, equity-oriented management teams in the professional services, light manufacturing, and distribution industries. Preferred size characteristics include revenue of $10 to $80 million and EBITDA of $2 to $8 million. Leadership Experience: LXP’s three senior partners, Giny Mullins, Jeff Piper, and Babette Henagan, bring an average of 25 years of experience investing in and growing lower middle market companies. LXP leverages this experience to identify and invest first institutional capital in high-potential platform companies, with the goal of supporting their growth and driving value for all investors. Contact Information & Website: If you or your client is looking for an experienced and collaborative investment partner, please reach out directly to Jeff Piper and Giny Mullins at our new email addresses – jpiper@lxpcapital.com and gmullins@lxpcapital.com. Please update your databases accordingly. Finally, LXP has launched its new website. For more information about LXP, including additional information about our investment philosophy and criteria, please visit www.lxpcapital.com. About LXP Capital: LXP was founded on the premise of investing in U.S. based partnerships with families, entrepreneurs, and management teams to build businesses. We are seasoned investment professionals providing collaborative liquidity solutions to small and medium sized businesses in the industrial and professional services, light manufacturing & distribution industries. Leveraging our extensive transaction experience, we faithfully deploy our network, our capital, and our operational resources to create portfolio value. Our mission centers around an unyielding commitment to the growth and success of our partner businesses, leading with culture-building, employee empowerment, management and stakeholder alignment, and direct, transparent communication.

 

LXP Announces Partnership With Black Creek Integrated Systems Corp.

BIRMINGHAM, AL, May 3, 2024 – LXP, LLC (“LXP”) is pleased to announce the recapitalization of Black Creek Integrated Systems Corp. (“Black Creek” or the “Company”). Specific terms of the transaction were undisclosed. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Irondale, Alabama, Black Creek is a premier provider of fully integrated public safety software and facility control systems, including annual support services, to high security corrections environments. Black Creek serves a large addressable market with an aging infrastructure base positioned for technological advancement. Black Creek’s fully integrated software systems and facility control systems are differentiated in the public safety market, providing unmatched expertise, proprietary components, and a comprehensive, single-source solution. Since its founding, the Company has developed a reputation for best-in-class product and service, all while reducing costs and enhancing the safety and security of its customers and facilities. Black Creek remains dedicated to continuous research and development, positioning the Company for accelerated growth and expansion. At closing, Company veteran Brady Hughes will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer while Ike Newton, the Company’s founder, will transition to the Board of Directors. Brady Hughes commented on LXP’s investment. “I am excited about the opportunity to partner with LXP, and to continue leading the team at Black Creek. We’ve built an exceptional product portfolio supported by unmatched aftermarket service. Our partnership with LXP will provide us additional bandwidth and access to capital to continue reinvesting in our growth.” “The team at Black Creek has worked tirelessly to build a scalable business focused on its core competencies serving the corrections industry” said Ike Newton. “This transaction partners the Company with a truly unique PE firm that places value on excellence in products, support and customer relationships and sets the stage for the Company’s continued growth in capabilities and geographic reach. I am delighted to leverage my industry knowledge and relationships as I join the Board of Directors in pursuit of our goals.” Giny Mullins and Jeff Piper, Managing Directors at LXP, added, “We could not be more thrilled to announce our partnership with the team at Black Creek. Management’s relentless desire to “do right” internally and externally has driven strong retention of technical talent and admirable tenure with customers, all of which is underpinned by its engineering prowess and focus on service. Black Creek possesses many of the characteristics that LXP admires in a service provider. We are honored to be Black Creek’s partner and look forward to working with the team to capitalize on its numerous growth opportunities.” LXP and the Company are also pleased to be working with Third Coast Bank, which provided the senior debt financing, and Midwest Mezzanine Funds, which provided subordinated debt financing and a partial equity investment, on this transaction. Founders Investment Banking was engaged as advisor to Black Creek. For more information on Black Creek, visit www.blackcreekisc.com.

 

Finishing Strong in 2023

Since officially launching earlier this year, LXP has been actively engaged in new investment evaluation while maintaining its disciplined focus on partnering with motivated, equity-oriented management teams. We are encouraged by the feedback we have received thus far and are excited for what the future holds. As we embark on the final push of 2023, we wanted to remind our friends and advocates that we continue to seek out new equity platform and add-on investments. LXP believes every transaction and company is unique in its own right, and therefore utilizes flexible, curated capital structures for investment in the professional services, light manufacturing, and distribution industries. Preferred size characteristics include revenue of $10 to $80 million and EBITDA of $2 to $8 million. Please see our overview here which outlines our focus. Thank you for your continued support and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous close to the year.

 

Clear Rate Wins Detroit’s “Best and Brightest” Award for Second Consecutive Year

LXP is thrilled to announce that Clear Rate Communications has once again been honored with Metropolitan Detroit’s prestigious “Best and Brightest Award.” This coveted recognition marks the second consecutive year that Clear Rate has received this esteemed accolade. Giny Mullins, Vice-Chairman of Clear Rate and Managing Director of LXP, expressed her excitement about the achievement, stating, “We take immense pride in the Clear Rate team, under the exceptional leadership of Stephen Oyer, CEO, and our Executive Director of Human Resources, Shoneizi Lang. This designation serves as a testament to our unwavering commitment to prioritizing both our customers and employees, and it reflects the collective dedication of the entire Clear Rate team.” At Clear Rate, our team firmly believes that determination, exceptional leadership, and daily ingenuity are the fundamental building blocks of any successful organization. As customers and team members rely on companies to create an environment where challenges transform into opportunities, words become commitments, and work becomes a fulfilling pursuit, we strive to exemplify the ideals of Better Business, Richer Lives, and Stronger Communities. The Best and Brightest programs aim to identify and celebrate organizations that embody these values. Only companies demonstrating the most innovative business acumen and human resources practices receive the distinguished honor of being named a “Best and Brightest Company to Work For”. “We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Best and Brightest organization for this recognition and to our valued customers and team members for their unwavering support. We remain committed to maintaining our exceptional standards, fostering a workplace culture that nurtures growth and development, and continuously exceeding expectations,” added Stephen Oyer.

About Clear Rate Communications: Clear Rate is a leading telecommunications company dedicated to providing exceptional service to residential and business customers, leveraging its regional fiber network. With a customer and employee-first approach, Clear Rate strives to deliver innovative solutions and unmatched customer experiences. For more information about Clear Rate, visit ClearRate.com. About LXP: LXP is an affiliate platform of Linx Partners, focused on direct, partnership-oriented investments through single-purpose funds, utilizing the proven successful philosophies and capital deployment strategies of its senior partners. LXP’s three senior partners bring an average of 25 years of experience investing in and growing lower-middle market companies. LXP is leveraging this experience to partner with exceptional management teams and high-potential platform companies in driving value for all stakeholders. For more information about LXP, visit LinxPartners.com/LXP.

 

Linx Partners Announces LXP, A New Direct Investing Affiliate

Linx Partners is excited to announce the launch of LXP, a new affiliate platform focused on direct, partnership-directed investments through single-purpose funds, utilizing the proven successful philosophies and capital deployment strategies of its senior partners. Initially conceived in 2021, the partners of LXP independently completed two transactions utilizing this strategy and are actively seeking new opportunities to partner with lower-middle-market businesses. LXP’s three senior partners, Giny Mullins, Jeff Piper, and Babette Henagan, bring an average of 25 years of experience investing in and growing lower middle market companies. LXP will leverage this experience to identify and invest in high-potential platform companies, with the goal of supporting their growth and driving value for all investors. “We are thrilled to launch LXP and apply our proven playbook,” said Babette Henagan. “Our team has a strong track record of success, and we are confident in our ability to identify and support companies that have the potential to generate significant returns for our investors.” “Our mission centers around an unyielding commitment to the growth and success of our partner businesses,” said Jeff Piper. “We lead with culture-building, employee empowerment, management and stakeholder alignment, and direct, transparent communication.” Giny Mullins said “LXP allows us to align the interests of all of our constituencies and create true partnerships. We have seen that there is significant demand among Limited Partners for access to direct investing opportunities backed by a seasoned team with a deep track record of success and are excited to deliver these opportunities to investors. We are bringing our professional, seasoned management style to each investment.” LXP believes every transaction and company is unique in its own right. LXP will utilize flexible, curated capital structures to partner with strong customer service-oriented companies with motivated, equity-oriented management teams in the professional services, light manufacturing, and distribution industries. Preferred size characteristics include revenue of $10 to $80 million and EBITDA of $2 to $8 million.

For more information about LXP, including additional information about our investment philosophy and criteria, please visit www.linxpartners.com/LXP.

 

While we’re eager to welcome the start 2022, we at Linx Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, are thrilled to share several exciting developments from the fourth quarter of 2021:

• Reconstruction Experts sale to John Lyng Group closes
• L4 invested in a new telecom platform: Clear Rate Communications
• Transglobal completes its first add-on acquisition
• We’ve expanded the investment team with a new senior associate, Luke Fisher

Reconstruction Experts Sold to John Lyng Group
In December, the sale of Reconstruction Experts (“RE”) to Johns Lyng Group (ASX: JLG), a property restoration specialist headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, closed. RE provides specialized property repair services to homeowner associations, multi-family property managers, and commercial property owners. The company, operating out of four states nationwide, typically repairs occupied buildings after damage occurs, usually following weather events or stemming from construction defects. In 2013, Linx partnered with the management team of Reconstruction Experts to acquire a majority interest in the Company from its original founder. During Linx’s partnership with the company, Reconstruction Experts’ enterprise value increased more than five-fold due to organic and acquisition-led service offering and geographic expansion, higher profitability, and a focus on building a top-tier management team and culture. Linx is proud of our work together with the RE team and wish them all the success as they continue as part of the JLG family.

New Telecom Platform: Clear Rate Communications
At the end of September, L4, LLC (“L4”), an affiliate of Linx Partners, acquired Clear Rate Communications (“Clear Rate” or the “Company”), representing Linx’s second platform investment in the telecommunications industry. Clear Rate, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, provides businesses and consumers with full-service telecommunications solutions, ranging from access to its own network of fiber lines to software-based communication products. Over the last twenty years, the Company has developed a reputation for reliable service while continuing to develop advanced solutions in the ever-evolving telecom industry. Currently, Clear Rate provides service to 800 enterprise customers and 23,000 consumers, and the Company has constructed over 120 route miles of fiber lines in Michigan. In the fourth quarter, L4 and Clear Rate were excited to announce the addition of CEO, Steve Oyer and Chairman of the Board, Pat O’Leary, to the team. Both gentlemen bring deep local experience in the space, and we remain excited to have them on Board as Clear Rate enters this next phase of growth.

Transglobal Consummates its First Add-on Acquisition
Transglobal Services, LLC (“Transglobal” or “TGS”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Gullett & Associates, Inc. (“Gullett” or “G&A”), an infrastructure services provider, headquartered in Houston, Texas. G&A offers turnkey solutions that cover the entire asset life cycle from initial development to ongoing maintenance and compliance. Since 1972, Gullett has established a sterling reputation for quality and its ability to undertake the most complex developments throughout the Gulf Coast region. This acquisition expands the service offering and geographic reach for TGS, as well as adds tremendous, experienced talent to the TGS team. The combined business is well-positioned to serve customers across Texas from gathering lines for oil companies to transmission projects for electric utilities.

Expanded Investment Team with a New Senior Associate
Linx Partners has hired Luke Fisher as a new senior associate. Luke will be responsible for helping evaluate new investment opportunities and assisting portfolio companies with strategic initiatives. Before joining Linx, Mr. Fisher was a senior associate with Osceola Capital. Earlier, he was an analyst at financial services firm Bright Equities. Mr. Fisher earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University. Please join us in welcoming Luke to the Linx team!

Linx Partners (“Linx”) today announced that it, along with other existing shareholders, signed a definitive agreement to sell 100% of Reconstruction Holdings, Inc. to Johns Lyng Group (ASX:JLG). Reconstruction Holdings, through its subsidiary Reconstruction Experts (“RE”) provides specialized property repair services to homeowner associations, multi-family property managers, and commercial property owners. RE’s services repair occupied buildings after defects emerge from poor initial construction, from weather-related damage, or normal degradation due to aging. Founded in 2001, the Company is currently headquartered in Arvada, Colorado with additional offices in California, Texas, and Florida and employs over 250 professionals.

Since partnering with Linx in 2013, RE has undergone a period of transformation, growth, and success, due to:

• Professionalizing and optimizing its corporate management team, structure, and governance to enhance profitability and scalability
• Organic and acquisition-led growth and diversification into new geographies with strong property services end markets
• Expanded its service offering to better service its customers and help them to Love your place again

“Our exceptionally talented employees and customer-centric culture are driving strong business performance year-over-year. We continue to grow our market position and deliver value to customers by executing full-scale repair projects in complex settings,” said Rich Whitten, Reconstruction Experts’ Chief Executive Officer. “We have enjoyed working with Linx Partners, who has provided strategic guidance, business professionalization and M&A support, and capital to help us grow our business and prepare for the next growth phase of RE.”

Giny Mullins, Managing Director at Linx and Chairman of RE commented, “The success of Reconstruction Experts exemplifies Linx’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurial management teams and professionalizing businesses ahead of their next stage of growth. We are so proud of the RE team and the tremendous work over the past eight years to become the premier provider of property services to occupied spaces.”

Robert W. Baird & Company served as financial advisor and Morgan Lewis & Bockius served as legal advisor to RE.

About Linx Partners
Linx was founded in 1999 on the premise of investing in U.S. industrial companies, utilizing our human and capital resources in partnership with families, entrepreneurs, and management teams to build businesses. The Managing Directors of Linx have worked together in various capacities for over 15 years and have collectively created over 30 such partnerships since the founding of the firm.

About Reconstruction Experts
Reconstruction Experts provides specialized property services to homeowners’ associations and other property owners through eight offices in Colorado, California, Texas, and Florida. The company’s service offering includes defect insurance services, specialty repair & maintenance services, and damage insurance services for occupied spaces, primarily multifamily and commercial developments.

Transglobal Services, LLC (“Transglobal” or “TGS”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Gullett & Associates, Inc. (“Gullett” or “G&A”), an infrastructure services provider, headquartered in Houston, Texas. G&A offers turnkey solutions that cover the entire asset life cycle from initial development to ongoing maintenance and compliance. Since 1972, Gullett has established a sterling reputation for quality and its ability to undertake the most complex developments throughout the Gulf Coast region.

John Ratliff, Transglobal’s CEO, commented, “I am excited about the opportunity to lead Gullett’s well-regarded team of professionals and continue building on the strong reputation they’ve established over the last fifty years. The combined company is better positioned today to serve existing customers across the energy value chain from upstream exploration & development, gathering & transmission, downstream facilities, and distribution. A physical presence in Houston also allows us to service infrastructure projects in one of the fastest-growing regions in the US. and enables us to better support our oil and gas, electric utility, and renewable energy customers throughout the Gulf Coast. In fact, Gullett crews were working on a TGS project the day after the acquisition.”

John Lodge, a board member of Transglobal, shared, “There’s a need in the market for solution providers with turnkey capabilities that can handle the complexity of congested downstream developments and have the agility to complete projects of any size on time and on budget. Throughout my career over the last 40 years, I’ve come across very few platforms that offer the breadth and depth of expertise that the combination of Gullett and TGS present.”

Giny Mullins, the Chairman of Transglobal, added, “The acquisition of Gullett creates a technology-forward, infrastructure services provider with the ability to support energy, electric utility, and real estate projects from the Gulf Coast to the Permian and beyond. The technical strength of the Gullett team will bolster TGS’s experience with high complexity, downstream projects and large, multi-phase developments.”

About Transglobal Services
Transglobal, headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, is a leading provider of infrastructure services. While the company built its reputation by primarily supporting midstream energy customers in the Permian Basin, TGS has developed significant experience across electric utilities, renewable energy, and real estate development projects. The Company provides a comprehensive suite of solutions, including: (i) land and right-of-way acquisitions, (ii) permitting and surveying services, (iii) project management, (iv) environmental assessments, and (v) geographic information system services, including its proprietary, patent-pending data management platform TGS Transform. TGS utilized the TGS Transform Platform during the acquisition process of Gullett to aid in geographical experience visibility, the diligence process, and post-close integration planning. TGS is a portfolio company of Linx Partners in their Fund 3.

About Linx Partners
Linx was founded in 1999 on the premise of investing in U.S. industrial companies, utilizing our human and capital resources in partnership with families, entrepreneurs, and management teams to build businesses. The Managing Directors of Linx have been together in various capacities for over 15 years and have collectively created over 30 such partnerships since the founding of the firm. Linx partnered with Transglobal in April 2019.

TROY, Mich., October 7, 2021 (Newswire.com) – Clear Rate Communications, an innovative telecommunications service provider offering fiber internet, cloud solutions, voice and Managed IT solutions to over 30,000 residential and business customers nationwide, announces its acquisition to L4, LLC, an affiliate of Linx Partners, representing the investment firm’s second platform investment in the dynamic telecommunications industry.

Clear Rate, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, provides enterprise and consumers with a wide array of telecommunications solutions in over 20 states. The Company’s enterprise-focused services include fiber internet, hosted phone systems, cloud servers, managed IT, and additional services. Since its founding in 2001, the Company has developed a reputation for both white glove and reliable service while continuing to develop advanced solutions in the ever-evolving telecom industry. Over the last five years, the Company has invested millions of dollars in constructing fiber infrastructure in the state of Michigan and a state-of-the-art data center with Cisco multi-100Gb switching fabric and multiple redundant systems. Clear Rate is in a strong position to accelerate growth and expansion with these infrastructure investments.

At closing, industry veterans Stephen Oyer and Pat O’Leary will join Clear Rate as its Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, respectively. Stephen has worked in the telecom industry for over 30 years and played a fundamental role in growing US Signal from 1997 to 2020 as its President and Chief Operating Officer and EVP of Sales. Pat has held senior management positions at numerous telecom companies in Michigan since 1989, including Everstream Solutions, TelNet, and LDMI Telecommunications. Thane Namy and Sam Namy, the Company’s current owner-operators, will continue in senior management roles at Clear Rate and will maintain significant ownership going forward.

Stephen Oyer commented on joining the Clear Rate team. “I am excited about the opportunity to lead the quality team at Clear Rate and shepherd the Company into its next phase of growth, building on its strong technical expertise and advanced solution offering.”

“Clear Rate is at a critical inflection point in its growth story,” said Pat O’Leary. “The foundation is already in place for the Company to expand its capabilities and geographic reach to serve more customers. I am delighted to be able to lead the Board of Directors as we grow and build the Company.”

Thane Namy commented, “We couldn’t be more thrilled about the fit we have found with L4 and the addition of Steve and Pat to lead our team. These partnerships will allow us to continue our expansion, bolster our team, and more aggressively capture market share.”

Giny Mullins, a Managing Director at L4, added, “We were drawn to Clear Rate because of its leadership, strong technical talent, and focus on customer service. Thane and Sam have built a quality company which we are honored to partner with. We are also excited with the addition of Steve and Pat. We believe that, with this management team, the Company is well-positioned to capitalize on numerous growth opportunities and industry tailwinds. Clear Rate has grown to possess many of the characteristics that L4 admires in a service provider, matching well with the type of partnerships that we’ve made in the past to professionalize businesses for their next phase of growth.”

L4 and the Company are also pleased to be working with Texas Capital Bank, which provided the senior debt financing for this transaction.

Press Contacts:
Clear Rate Communications
Thane Namy
1-248-556-4527
www.clearrate.com

L4, LLC
Giny Mullins
gmullins@linxpartners.com