Liberty Ridge Advisors Announces the Recapitalization of Columbia Fire
SEATTLE, WA— Liberty Ridge Advisors, LLC announced today that The Great River Company (GRC), a family-owned Minneapolis-based private investment company backed exclusively by business-owning families, has agreed to make a growth investment into Columbia Fire, a leading provider of fire protection and life safety services to the Pacific Northwest. Columbia Fire will retain its management team, employees, and brand name that has almost 20 years of goodwill in the Pacific Northwest. The Company will continue to be led by its Founder, Marty Boonstra who remains President and owner, as it prepares for its next stage of growth. Liberty Ridge Advisors acted as the exclusive advisor to Columbia Fire during the transaction.
Columbia Fire specializes in all aspects of fire protection, including fire sprinkler system design & engineering, installation, testing, inspection, maintenance, and repairs of fire sprinklers and fire pumps. Columbia Fire’s confidence testing, inspection, and sprinkler maintenance programs are carried out in accordance with the code requirements set forth in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the requirements of the local authorities. Columbia Fire’s experienced and highly skilled employee base includes a qualified team of project managers, engineers, designers, technicians, installers, and inspectors responsible for installing and servicing commercial and residential fire sprinklers throughout the Puget Sound area. Marty Boonstra, the owner of Columbia Fire, said this about the investment process:
As we continue to grow and develop Columbia Fire to reach its full potential, I had a very specific goal—I wanted to partner with a passionate long-term investor with deep operating experience. It has been quite a process in finding the perfect partner for this journey and I want to thank Liberty Ridge Advisors for their diligence and commitment to this process. They executed precisely as they said they would. We are thrilled about partnering with The Great River Company and what our future holds.”
Michael O’Neill, Partner at GRC commented, “We are excited to partner with Marty Boonstra and the team at Columbia Fire. With Marty’s leadership, we are committed to expanding the Company’s services and footprint throughout the Pacific Northwest. We were founded on the belief that we can achieve more together than on our own, and that a successful outcome is one where all stakeholders benefit: shareholders, employees and their families, the community where the business resides, the customers the Company serves, and the vendors that provide services/products to the enterprise. Columbia Fire is an excellent fit for GRC because of our indefinite hold ability and our investor base of private business owners with decades of experience operating within construction, contracting, industrial services, and multi-location business models.”
For more information about this transaction, please contact the Liberty Ridge Advisors deal team:
Michael Bennett Leif Johnson
Managing Partner Managing Partner
mbennett@libertyra.com ljohnson@libertyra.com
About Liberty Ridge Advisors
Liberty Ridge Advisors provides merger and acquisition advisory services for Pacific Northwest privately held businesses including capital transactions, mergers, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. Liberty Ridge Advisors offers concentrated experience and expertise in key industries including food products, aerospace, building materials and construction, general manufacturing and distribution, wine, and business and financial services. For more information about Liberty Ridge Advisors please visit our website at www.libertyra.com.
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Investment Banking Services and Securities offered through Independent Investment Bankers Corp. a broker-dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Liberty Ridge Advisors, LLC is not affiliated with Independent Investment Bankers Corp
Contact:
Michael Bennett, Managing Partner, Liberty Ridge Advisors, LLC
Email: mbennett@libertyra.com
Phone: (206) 422-0102