Solace Capital Partners Sells Patriot Environmental Services to Heritage-Crystal Clean

LOS ANGELESv--Solace Capital Partners, L.P. (“Solace”), a leading private equity firm focused on providing creative capital solutions for middle market companies, today announced the sale of Patriot Environmental Services, Inc. (“Patriot” or the “Company”), a premier provider of comprehensive environmental services and emergency oil spill response, to Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCCI) for $156 million.

“This transaction represents a successful outcome for Solace’s investors and reflects our collaborative approach, ability to identify and execute complementary M&A, and provide operational support to our portfolio companies. Under Solace’s ownership, Patriot’s talented management team delivered on a strategic plan to meaningfully expand its footprint and solidify its position as the leading environmental services provider on the West Coast,” said Christopher Brothers, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Solace. “Moreover, we thank Channel Investment Advisors and Angeleno Group for their partnership on this investment.”

Headquartered in Wilmington, CA, adjacent to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Patriot specializes in a wide variety of waste services, including transportation and disposal, environmental emergency response and cleanup, industrial cleaning, and oil spill response. Patriot operates eighteen locations, including two wastewater treatment facilities.

Since Solace’s initial investment in 2015, Patriot experienced significant growth and its revenue and EBITDA nearly tripled. In this time, the Company opened eight environmental services offices across California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, expanded vertically into waste disposal through the acquisition and greenfielding of four disposal facilities, and recruited seasoned leaders, including 30-year industry veteran, Kent Bartley, as Chief Executive Officer. In addition to Mr. Bartley, Geoff Milbrandt, Chief Financial Officer, and Josh Teves, President, both played instrumental roles in growing the business.

“With Solace’s financial and operational support, we achieved substantial growth, enhanced our operational excellence, and built upon Patriot’s legacy and outstanding reputation,” said Mr. Bartley. “We look forward to Patriot flourishing under Heritage-Crystal Clean’s ownership and continuing to provide premium services to our customers.”

About Solace Capital Partners
Solace Capital Partners is a Los Angeles-based private investment firm focused on providing flexible capital solutions for middle market companies in the United States and Canada. Solace seeks to form collaborative partnerships with management teams and leverage the firm’s extensive resources to realize operational improvements and drive performance in its portfolio companies while generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For more information, please visit www.solacecap.com.