Buyer Profile
Key Contacts
| Name | Title | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Loverro | Partner | Industrial & Services M&A | — |
| James Connors | Partner | Deal Origination | — |
| Managing Director (Business Dev) | MD, Origination | New Platform Sourcing | — |
Strategic Fit
Kelso & Company's investment thesis centers on businesses with defensible market positions, recurring revenue, and fragmented competitive landscapes that support platform building — all of which describe water treatment services. AquaScience's Wyoming operations serve energy, mining, municipal, and agricultural customers with essential, regulation-driven demand that is durable through economic cycles.
Kelso's model of majority control with meaningful management equity co-investment aligns well with a founder-led water treatment business. Owners retain meaningful upside through retained equity while achieving liquidity. Kelso would bring operational discipline and capital for add-on acquisitions, using AquaScience as a platform to consolidate additional water treatment operators across the Mountain West.
The water treatment sector's regulatory barriers to entry, local market knowledge requirements, and essential-service characteristics match Kelso's historical investment profile in industrial services. Wyoming's energy, mining, and agricultural sectors provide durable, cycle-resistant treatment demand.
Approach Strategy
Call Opener: "Kelso has a strong track record building industrial services platforms — we're working with an owner-operated water treatment company in Wyoming with recurring revenue across energy, municipal, and ag customers. Given your model for majority control with management rollover, I think it's worth a conversation."
Pipeline History
| Date | Activity | Contact | Outcome | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Initial Research & Profile Build | Internal | Dossier compiled | Complete |
| — | First Outreach | Larry Casey | Pending | Next Step |