Sterling Investment Partners, a Westport, Conn.-based middle market private equity firm has closed the sale of HeartLand — No. 6 on the 2023 LM150 list with a revenue of $434,000,000 — to Pritzker Private Capital (PPC).
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Kansas City, HeartLand has more than 4,000 employees and 60 branches throughout 26 states serving a broad range of commercial end markets. HeartLand operates through 18 local operating companies.
“In partnership with Sterling, we’ve built a scalable national landscape services platform, establishing ourselves as an acquirer of choice in the industry while continuing to be a trusted service provider for our customers,” Ed Schatz, founder and CEO of HeartLand, said. “Our shared vision and strategic early investments in people, processes and systems have fueled our exponential growth and I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished in just over 4 years together. Sterling has been an ideal partner and we’re incredibly appreciative of their mentorship and support on this journey, and are excited to continue the next phase of our growth with PPC.”
Charles Santoro, managing partner and co-founder of Sterling, added, “Sterling is extremely proud of our partnership with HeartLand and for management’s steadfast devotion to providing quality service to their customers as well as to the safety, training, development, and overall well-being of their employees. We have built a dynamically growing and industry-leading platform through a combination of successful organic and M&A initiatives. HeartLand is extremely well positioned for ongoing success in their new partnership with PPC, an organization with a very strong reputation, track record and history of building great businesses.”
Piper Sandler served as lead financial advisor, while Solomon Partners and CCG Advisors served as co-financial advisors to HeartLand and Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP served as legal adviser to HeartLand and Sterling.
