CHICAGO, ILL. – Prospect Partners, a leading private equity firm investing in pre-middle market companies, today announced its investment, alongside management, into Fontanesi & Kann and Architectural Building Components (“Fontanesi & Kann”), of Ferndale, MI. As part of this transaction, Prospect Partners and the Fontanesi & Kann management team established Central States HVAC Solutions, an HVAC distribution and services platform focused on providing commercial customers with top quality, turnkey products and services. Central States HVAC Solutions will be led by Fontanesi & Kann CEO, Joe Fontanesi.
Fontanesi & Kann is a leading HVAC solutions and related service provider for custom, highly engineered HVAC systems primarily serving the commercial, industrial, healthcare, and higher education end markets. Building owners, architects, general contractors, and OEMs are deeply reliant on F&K’s engineering expertise through all phases of the HVAC equipment useful life, from initial installation to repair, maintenance, and eventual replacement. In addition to its value-added distribution business, the Company offers recurring electrical and controls integration services to its core customer base. Joe Fontanesi, who has led the business since 1991, will continue to lead Fontanesi & Kann and the broader Central States HVAC Solutions platform as CEO.
“Fontanesi & Kann is the go-to provider for complex HVAC products and services in the Michigan and Ohio markets, with an unmatched industry reputation, loyal customer base and top tier vendor relationships” said Brett Holcomb, a Partner at Prospect Partners. “We are excited to partner with the Fontanesi & Kann management team to not only support Fontanesi & Kann’s current markets and offerings, but also provide HVAC solutions to a larger geography” added Mike McInerney, a Director at Prospect Partners.
Said Fontanesi & Kann CEO Joe Fontanesi: “We couldn’t be more excited about our partnership with Prospect Partners. Prospect Partners’ ability to understand our business combined with their long history of supporting growing businesses is invaluable as we aggressively pursue the growth opportunities we have identified.”
Central States HVAC Solutions becomes Prospect Partners’ 54th portfolio company. Byline Bank provided senior debt financing, while SharpVue Capital provided subordinated debt financing and an equity co-investment.
Leading the investment from Prospect Partners are Brett Holcomb, as Chairman, and Mike McInerney as a Director. The company is actively seeking add-on acquisitions, so please reach out to Mr. Holcomb (bholcomb@prospect-partners.com) or Mr. McInerney (mmcinerney@prospect-partners.com) with opportunities.
About Prospect Partners
Founded in 1998, Prospect Partners is an active investor and builder of pre-middle market companies. Prospect focuses on partnering with management teams to complete recapitalizations, build-ups, carve-outs, and generational transitions. The Prospect team brings deep domain expertise building high potential companies through both operational improvements and acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.prospect-partners.com.