NEW YORK – Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (“MSCP”), the middle-market focused private equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, have acquired a controlling interest in Alliance Technical Group (“Alliance” or the “Company”), from Align Capital Partners. MSCP is partnering with the current management team led by CEO Chris LeMay, who will continue to lead the business.
Headquartered in Decatur, AL, Alliance is the leading provider of regulatory-driven air quality testing and monitoring solutions to customers throughout North America. Alliance has grown into one of the largest platforms in the industry through strong organic growth and strategic M&A, completing 13 acquisitions since 2015.
Eric Kanter, Managing Director and Head of Industrials at MSCP, said: “We are delighted to partner with Chris and the Alliance team as they continue to build the leading air quality testing and monitoring platform in North America. Alliance’s consistent above market organic growth coupled with a customer-focused culture are a testament to what the management team has built over the past 20 years and has facilitated its widely-viewed reputation as the acquirer of choice in a highly fragmented industry. We look forward to working together as we seek to advance Alliance’s leadership position and continue expanding the company through organic growth and M&A.” Mr. Kanter will serve as the Chairman of the Board of Alliance.
MSCP’s investment in Alliance is consistent with the team’s focus on target subsectors where MSCP has deep institutional knowledge and domain expertise. Alliance, which follows MSCP’s most recent Industrials investment in AWT Label & Packaging, is MSCP’s third investment in 2021 following the acquisitions of Nivel Parts and Sila Heating & Air Conditioning. The management team and the broader employee base of Alliance will retain a meaningful ownership position in the Company.
Chris LeMay, CEO of Alliance, stated, “We are extremely excited to partner with MSCP as we enter our next chapter of growth. With MSCP’s support and expertise, we plan to expand our current capabilities and geographic footprint while continuing to provide the highest quality offering to our customers. MSCP’s commitment to operational excellence in addition to their track record of completing add-on acquisitions will be invaluable as we continue scaling Alliance in the coming years.”
“I’m extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of the entire team at Alliance, and very proud of the growth they’ve achieved during our partnership these last five years,” Rob Langley, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Align Capital Partners, said. “Chris LeMay and his team have an exciting opportunity ahead with MSCP to continue to build on that momentum.”
Piper Sandler & Co. acted as financial advisor to Alliance. Proskauer Rose LLP served as legal counsel to MSCP and Global Counsel served as MSCP’s regulatory and policy advisor. McGuireWoods LLP served as legal counsel to Alliance.
About Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is a leading middle-market private equity platform that has invested capital in a broad spectrum of industries for over three decades. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners focuses on privately negotiated equity and equity-related investments primarily in North America and seeks to create value in portfolio companies primarily in a series of subsectors in the business services, consumer, healthcare, education and industrials markets with an emphasis on driving significant organic and acquisition growth through an operationally focused approach. For further information about Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im/capitalpartners.
About Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has more than 731 investment professionals around the world and $1.4 trillion in assets under management or supervision as of March 31, 2021. Morgan Stanley Investment Management strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions, corporations and individuals worldwide. For further information about Morgan Stanley Investment Management, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.