Hiller is excited to announce a new strategic growth investment partner. With a long and well‐respected history as a fire protection and life safety leader, Hiller, along with Pon Holdings, will build a strategic partnership with Littlejohn & Co, a U.S.‐based private equity firm. Leadership anticipates a solid future, building on the growth and success of the past 100 years.
“We are looking forward to actively building a strong relationship with Littlejohn as the primary investment in the fire protection and life safety sector in their portfolio,” Hiller President and CEO Jeff Birch said. “We could not be more pleased that we will continue to operate under the trusted Hiller brand going forward and continue to be innovators and trailblazers in our industry.”
Hiller leadership across the country will remain in place, and customers and our supplier partners should see little to no change in their processes or points of contact.
“We will remain business as usual in terms of executive leadership, employees, customers and suppliers,” Birch explained. “As a team, we have worked hard to improve at what we do and how we do it. This new relationship with Littlejohn offers us the support and strength we need to continue our path forward and become the best we have ever been. We are thankful for the support of Pon over the years, and we look forward to their continuing partnership.”
Pon Holdings, Hiller’s owners for the past ten years, will continue to be a large investor in the business. Over the last ten years, Pon provided valuable tactical leadership for Hiller, which saw tremendous growth and success, quadrupling in size from 400 employees to over 1400 employees today. Birch believes the future is bright with this new strategic partnership model.
“With Littlejohn on board and a fresh perspective, we believe the sky is the limit,” Birch said. “And with Pon staying involved, we will have the wisdom of our experience together over the last decade. They have been a tremendous partner and helped us reach new heights in growth, innovation and success.”
Littlejohn has a strong tradition of building value in a portfolio of middle‐market companies.
Brian Michaud, Managing Director of Littlejohn, said, “We are thrilled to support the Hiller team as they build a unique platform in the fire and life safety sector. Hiller has differentiated capabilities, serving customers operating in complex environments with sophisticated fire protection needs, and benefits from strong secular growth drivers. We will bring to bear Littlejohn’s deep experience investing in leading facility services businesses to accelerate Hiller’s growth plan.”
Robert W. Baird & Co. served as the exclusive financial advisor to Hiller on the transaction.
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About Hiller
Hiller offers fire protection and life safety products and services that are preserving lives and property all around the world. Headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, Hiller extends its reach globally as well as in domestic markets with offices across the United States. For more than 100 years, we have been laser focused on one goal – making the world a safer place. For more information about Hiller products and services, visit hillerfire.com.
About Littlejohn & Co., LLC
Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut‐based investment firm focused on private equity and debt investments in middle‐market companies. With approximately $7.8 billion of regulatory assets under management, the firm seeks to build sustainable success for its portfolio companies through a disciplined approach to engineering change. For more information about Littlejohn, visit littlejohnllc.com.
Media Contacts
For Hiller
Angela Cocke/Emily Mansor
corpcomm@hillercompanies.com
(404) 840-7138
For Littlejohn & Co.
Nathaniel Garnick/Grace Cartwright
Gasthalter & Co.
(212) 257-4170