Bessemer Investors enters partnership with W Services Group
W Services Group, a leading tech-enabled provider of vendor-managed facility maintenance services to multi-site customers, and Bessemer Investors, a New York-based investment firm, announced that Bessemer has completed a significant investment in the company.
Bessemer will partner with W Services' existing management team, including founder and CEO, Matthew Whelan, who will continue leading the company.
“We are most excited about how this equity infusion will help support W Services’ strategic growth as it relates to expanding our existing service offerings and elevating our customer experience,” Whelan told Chain Store Age. “It will help us elevate the W Services brand and also create new opportunities for our employees.”
Whelan added that the partnership will also help W Services expand its M&A strategy.
“It’s a strategic partnership, “he said. “They bring their relationship and expertise to help us grow in scale.”
Whelan noted that W Services spent a good deal of time looking at different firms to partner with.
“We wanted a long-term partner whose culture, morals and ethics aligned with ours,” he explained. “Bessemer's commitment to maintaining our culture and client-centric approach ensures that we will continue to serve our customers, employees and business partners with the same excellence they have come to expect."
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Hauppauge, N.Y., W Services provides cleaning, site refresh and remodel, and emergency response services to multi-site customers across North America. With more than 250 employees managing a network of more than 3,000 contractor partners, the company delivers consistent, high-quality results to a wide base of blue-chip customers across over 10,000 sites in retail, automotive, grocery, foodservice, distribution and other multi-site end markets.
“We are thrilled to partner with Matthew and the W Services team,” said Andrew Mendelsohn, managing director at Bessemer. “W Services has developed a leading platform in the facility maintenance services space, serving high-quality customers who trust W Services as a true partner, whether for recurring services or emergency needs. We look forward to supporting the company during its next phase of growth, both through organic initiatives and strategic M&A."
In line with the acquisition, Bill Hayden has been appointed as an independent member of the W Services board. He brings more 20 years of industry experience to the position, most recently serving as CEO at FacilitySource, a technology and data-driven facility management business that was acquired by CBRE in 2018.
EC M&A served as financial advisor and Garfunkel Wild, P.C. served as legal counsel to W Services. Raymond James served as financial advisor and capital markets advisor to Bessemer Investors, while Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel. Brightwood Capital Advisors provided debt financing for the transaction.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.