Tail End Invests in Single Asset CV Supporting SPATCO Energy Solutions

Pittsburgh, PA – November 13, 2024: Tail End Capital (“Tail End”) completed a GP-led secondary investment into a continuation vehicle managed by Kian Capital, a firm targeting lower-mid market companies in sectors like value-added distribution, specialty manufacturing, and recurring services. The continuation vehicle (“CV”) provided liquidity at an attractive return to existing Kian investors while providing SPATCO with additional growth capital to continue to execute on its buy and build expansion strategy.  

SPATCO has evolved into one of the nation’s leading fueling infrastructure solutions providers, with a people-centric and customer-focused foundation and a skilled field technician base regarded widely for its capabilities, fast response times and leading first-time fix rates. Since 2020, EBITDA has quadrupled as a result of eight strategic add-on acquisitions and several new branch openings. SPATCO has 33 offices spanning 16 states and approximately 1,000 team members as of June 30th, 2024. Since the CV closed in July, SPATCO has closed one add-on and has two others pending.

“As we enter this next chapter, we plan to continue executing on the robust growth plan we have developed, including rapidly expanding SPATCO’s team of technicians and continuing to pursue M&A in a highly fragmented and growing fueling infrastructure market,” said Kian Partner Jordan Lee. “We are confident that there is a long runway ahead for SPATCO, and our shared vision for the future of the platform will further solidify SPATCO as the industry’s service partner of choice.”

SPATCO is led by CEO, John Force, who joined the company over 20 years ago.  John commented, “with this additional investment, we are excited to build on our track record of success by adding density in existing markets and planting flags in new territories, as well as expand our scope of services for our customers. SPATCO will continue to expand and support its customers in the buildout and maintenance of the nation’s EV infrastructure, which is absolutely essential as technology continues to propel innovation in the energy infrastructure and equipment services sector.”

Mike Blume, Partner at Tail End said, “Tail End was attracted to SPATCO in large part because Kian and John Force have spent the last few years putting the team, systems, and growth plan in place. SPATCO is a market leader in a highly fragmented and resilient industry, giving us confidence that the company can continue to execute on the playbook already in place.”

Justin Bertram, Partner at Tail End, has become a Board Observer of SPATCO bringing over 25 years of control buyout experience to the table. Justin added, “We have a long history of investing in technical field service and route-based distribution businesses. We’re excited to partner with a high-quality sponsor like Kian through the next chapter of SPATCO’s growth.”

About Tail End:

Based in Pittsburgh, Tail End Capital Partners provides sponsor-led equity solutions to independent sponsors and emerging managers. Tail End targets resilient businesses with proven growth strategies that operate in three preferred sectors: recurring services, specialty distribution, and asset-light manufacturing. Tail End specializes in the lower end of the middle market, defined as companies generating between $5-$50 million of EBITDA. Our investment team members have over 100 years of combined experience investing in the lower-middle market. Our goal is to be a value-added resource to our sponsor partners and management teams.

About Kian Capital Partners:

At Kian, we forge partnerships to ignite growth and build enduring value. Our goal is to provide flexible financial resources and additional operational horsepower to scale lower-middle-market businesses, realize aspirations and deliver long-term investment returns through genuine partnership. Proud to be recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for three consecutive years, Kian is a private investment firm with $1 billion of capital under management and a focus on four core industry sectors: consumer, services, value-added distribution and specialty manufacturing. Our team of seasoned investors has over 100 years of collective experience providing transformational capital solutions and board-level strategic and operational guidance to founder/owner operated businesses. To learn more, visit www.kiancapital.com.