Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced a majority investment in Shearer Supply (“Shearer” or “the Company”), a leading independent distributor of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (“HVAC”) equipment for residential and commercial properties in the southern United States region. Shearer’s management team, the Shearer family and PNC Riverarch Capital will remain shareholders in the Company alongside Investcorp. Additional financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1983, Shearer is one of the nation’s largest independent distributors of HVAC equipment, parts and supplies serving over 5,500 customers from 22 branches across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, Shearer’s core product lines include American Standard Residential and Commercial HVAC, Ameristar Heating and Air Conditioning and Samsung HVAC.
“Shearer operates in a large, resilient and highly fragmented market driven by non-discretionary replacement demand and will continue to benefit from strong secular tailwinds including an aging housing stock, shortening replacement cycles and favorable regulation, in addition to its attractive Southern US geographic footprint. We are excited to partner with the Shearer family to drive organic growth and further expansion,” said Dave Tayeh, Head of Private Equity – North America at Investcorp. “We have experienced robust activity across our North American Private Equity platform this year, underscoring the strength of our strategy in partnering with growing, founder-led businesses as they look to scale their businesses.”
“Investcorp has an established history of working with companies like Shearer and have demonstrated a strong track record in HVAC and specialty distribution,” said Michelle Shearer-Rodriguez, CEO at Shearer Supply. “We are looking forward to partnering with them on our next phase of growth and leveraging their strong industry insights.”
“Shearer provides a compelling value proposition for both contractors and original equipment manufacturers, acting as a one-stop-shop local partner with a breadth of products, expertise and value-added services,” said Steve Miller, Managing Director, Private Equity – North America at Investcorp. “This is an impressive family-owned and run business that has differentiated itself in its ability to scale and grow in excess of the market throughout its history and we are thrilled to be partnering with the Company’s highly motivated management team.”
Investcorp has unique experience in the HVAC industry and specialty distribution, with investments including Arrowhead, ATD, Berlin Packaging and The Wrench Group.
This announcement follows the final closing of Investcorp North American Private Equity Fund I, L.P., which focuses on control buy-out investments in middle market service businesses in North America. Fund I closed at over $1.2 billion in capital commitments. Investcorp’s North America Private Equity group has been investing in North American mid-market businesses for over 40 years and has completed approximately 70 transactions, deploying more than $22 billion in transaction value since inception.
