Founder Eddie Lennox will still retain a minority ownership stake in Dallas-based Service King. CEO Cathy Bonner will become chairman of the board and will represent Lennox on the board.
Service King currently operates 49 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. In the last three years, the company’s revenues and location count have doubled.
Part of the reason The Carlyle Group is buying Service King is to help the company expand nationally. The investment capital will come from Carlyle Equity Opportunities Fund LP and Carlyle Strategic Partners Fund III LP.
Shary Moalemzadeh, Carlyle Managing Director and a member of the Carlyle Strategic Partners investment team, said, "We are pleased to partner with the Lennox family, management and employee-owners in further growing the business. Service King's unparalleled commitment to its customers and focus on high quality service in the collision repair business attracted us to this investment."
Adam Glucksman, Carlyle Managing Director and member of the Carlyle Equity Opportunities investment team, said, "In Service King and its team, we see the opportunity to help a proven operator break through to the next level of scale in a fragmented industry."
"I am thrilled to have found a partner in The Carlyle Group who shares my vision for expanding our company nationally," said Mr. Lennox. "We purposely sought out Carlyle based on its record of value creation. Carlyle will continue our commitment to employee ownership and providing customers with the highest level of quality and service in the industry."
