Press Release
Gridiron Capital announces Yellowstone Landscape Group’s Acquisition of Austin Outdoor, LLC
New Canaan CT, January 7, 2009 — Gridiron Capital, LLC announced the acquisition of Austin Outdoor, LLC (“Austin”) on December 31, 2008 by its portfolio company, Yellowstone Landscape Group, Inc. (“Yellowstone”). Headquartered in Bunnell, Florida, Austin is an award winning, full-service landscape firm serving commercial customers in Florida and the Bahamas. This acquisition expands Yellowstone’s position as a leading environmental steward and provider of commercial and estate landscape services in the Southeast and South Central United States.
Yellowstone’s CEO, John Miller, stated, “Our joint vision of building a world-class landscape organization by providing our customers with the best team, most efficient operational processes and environmentally intelligent services makes Austin Outdoor a natural fit with Yellowstone. In addition to making Yellowstone one of the nation’s largest full-service landscape companies, Austin provides Yellowstone with additional management depth, a diverse customer base, new service capabilities and sophisticated IT systems. We believe that by joining forces with Austin Outdoor we’ve created the strongest value proposition for our stakeholders.”
Austin provides comprehensive landscape services, including maintenance, installation and architecture, to the commercial, resort and hospitality, municipal, multi-family and master-planned community markets. The Company has risen to prominence by building a reputation based on quality, innovative design, reliability, value-added solutions and the ability to handle large and complex projects. As a Yellowstone Landscape Group company, Austin will continue working in partnership with general contractors, developers, owners, property managers, architects and real estate professionals to enhance the value of their landscape investments.
“The addition of Austin is a significant step forward in realizing the Yellowstone vision of becoming one of the largest landscape services companies in the United States and the market-leader within the Southeast and South Central United States,” said Gridiron Capital Managing Partner Eugene Conese Jr. “Austin provides Yellowstone a major presence in the Florida market and by leveraging the strength of the Austin management team and the sophistication of their IT systems, the acquisition will help accelerate the execution of Yellowstone’s strategy of achieving growth through enhanced sales and marketing efforts, expanding service offerings, sharing best practices throughout the organization and strategic acquisitions.”
About Yellowstone Landscape Group:
Yellowstone Landscape Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a national landscape services leader with a team of dedicated professionals with years of experience in all service lines of landscape maintenance, architecture, installation, and construction. Yellowstone serves the growing demands of the commercial, municipal, resort, multi-family, HOA and sports markets by offering a portfolio of green and sustainable services with an emphasis on protecting, enhancing and increasing property values. Yellowstone currently serves customers in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and the Bahamas with plans for geographic expansion. Visit www.yellowstonelandscape.com for more information.
About Gridiron Capital:
Gridiron Capital, LLC, headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a private equity firm focused on creating value by acquiring and building middle-market manufacturing, service and specialty consumer companies in the United States and Canada. The firm’s principals have historically achieved superior investment returns by employing a combination of strategic, operating and financial experience to provide portfolio companies with competitive advantages. Gridiron’s principals work closely with management teams to develop strategies for portfolio companies, as well as providing resources to execute business plans and build industry-leading companies. Additional information about Gridiron is available on the firm’s website at www.gridironcapital.com.