Private equity firm Emerald Lake Capital Management has made equity investments in a pair of electrical distributors in a deal that merges them into “a combined specialty distribution and cable-integration platform,” officials announced Wednesday.
The transaction combines Southern California-based WECS Electric Supply and suburban Atlanta-based Electrical Cable Specialists under the WECS name. WECS provides cable, electrical and mechanical components, and other parts to the renewable energy, data center and industrial markets, while ECS supplies wire and cable to the utility, industrial, transportation and data center segments.
Officials said that the combination would offer a broader range of cables, accessories and services for both new construction and maintenance across the power and infrastructure markets. Emerald Lake added that it would invest in “inventory, facilities, technology, systems and talent,” as well as “selective acquisitions” to bolster its capabilities and geographic footprint.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"This partnership provides us with additional resources to continue investing in our people, inventory, systems, and geographic reach while preserving the high-touch service and accountability that define ECS,” ECS CEO Jerry James, who will serve as CEO of the combined business, said in the announcement.
“With Emerald Lake's support, we will be able to expand our capabilities and serve customers across more stages of the power and infrastructure lifecycle,” added WECS CEO Theresa Eaton, who will become the newly combined company’s chief strategy officer.
Jim Hibberd, operating partner at Emerald Lake, will be the company’s chairman; officials also named Mike Ip as COO, Dan Niemeyer as CFO, and Justin Pecoroni as chief commercial and innovation officer.
