NEW YORK and ST. PAUL, Minn. – September 20, 2021 – BlackRock Long Term Private Capital (“LTPC”) today announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Summit Companies (“Summit”), a leading fire and life safety service and installation company, from CI Capital Partners (“CI Capital”). LTPC will partner with Summit’s management team to drive the company’s next phase of growth through geographic expansion and scaling its capabilities and services.
Built on over 20 years of commitment to clients and the expertise of leading professionals, Summit Companies has become a one-stop-shop of non-discretionary fire and life safety services, offering complete end-to-end capabilities for fire detection, fire suppression, and life safety on a local, regional and national scale. With an extensive portfolio of premier fire protection companies, Summit provides its diverse customer base with a comprehensive set of services designed to protect buildings, assets, and people, including installation, inspection, monitoring, maintenance, remodeling, and consulting.
Colm Lanigan, Head of LTPC, Americas, commented, “We are excited to partner with the Summit team to continue building out a national platform designed to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive set of fire and life safety services to both local and regional customers and national accounts. This investment capitalizes on the need for an end-to-end solutions provider as safety continues to be a critical regulatory focus for companies across industries. We look forward to advancing Summit’s strong growth momentum following CI Capital’s ownership over the past four years.”
Summit has experienced significant organic and inorganic growth in recent years, completing an impressive 55 strategic acquisitions for a total of 82 acquisitions since its founding in 1999. This expansion has enabled Summit to create a diversified network of branch offices and suite of capabilities through its operating subsidiaries, expanding the company from a local leader within the Upper Midwest to serve 90,000 customers across 20 states throughout the Midwest, South, and Southwest.
Jeff Evrard, CEO of Summit Companies, commented, “LTPC’s investment in Summit is a testament to our commitment to exceptional customer service and dedication to fire and life safety protection. We look forward to working with the LTPC team to advance our strategic growth objectives and continue serving our customers to the best of our ability as we seek to continue building a national platform to provide safety and protection throughout the country.”
Summit Companies is LTPC’s fifth investment to date, and its third North American investment. The acquisition is highly emblematic of LTPC’s strategy of investing in high-quality businesses with strong, persistent returns on capital, multiple growth paths and best-in-class management teams.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal advisor to BlackRock LTPC.
About BlackRock LTPC
BlackRock LTPC is an innovative private equity strategy focused on investing in high-quality businesses and value creation through active collaboration with management teams. The strategy’s flexible duration and prudent approach to leverage preserve optionality for growth and help enable compounded capital appreciation. LTPC’s team of 16 professionals are based in New York and London and invest across North America and Western Europe. LTPC is backed by BlackRock, Inc., which manages $283 billion in alternative investments and commitments on behalf of clients worldwide as of June 30, 2021. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate.
About Summit Companies
SFP Holding, Inc. (Summit Companies), through its subsidiaries, provides premier fire and life safety services with an expanding national presence. Since 1999, Summit has been a leader in the fire and life safety space with experience and capabilities that create a one-stop-shop solution for fire detection and fire suppression on a local and national scale. Summit Companies’ subsidiaries meet all of a customer’s requirements for fire protection, fire security, consulting and engineering services. Learn more at: www.SummitCompanies.com