Council Capital, a healthcare-focused private equity firm based in Nashville, TN, announced today that it has sold its stake in Atlanta, GA-based EspriGas to an entity affiliated with Kaltroco, a private investment company with operations in both the United States and Europe. CEO Mike Walsh will remain a significant shareholder in EspriGas alongside Kaltroco. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
EspriGas is a technology and data-driven medical and industrial gas company that utilizes a network business model to manage the gas supply chain. The company leverages its unique service and technology capabilities to handle the complex logistical needs of large, multi-site companies through a national network of gas supply partners. The company’s customer base includes Fortune 1000 companies across a variety of industries.
Since Council Capital’s investment in 2013, EspriGas experienced substantial revenue and EBITDA growth and gained significant traction with customers in the healthcare vertical. Council Capital played an instrumental role in the company’s growth by facilitating introductions to key new customers including AMSURG, Brookdale Senior Living, and Select Medical, supporting the company’s expansion into new verticals, and investing in the systems and processes critical to building a scalable technology-enabled platform.
Council invested in EspriGas alongside Mike Walsh, who commented, “We found success by delivering an excellent customer experience. Council Capital was the perfect match for EspriGas. With access to strategic thinkers, introductions to potential customers, and support from shared portfolio resources, the Council Model helped us through every stage of our growth.”
Grant Jackson, Managing General Partner at Council Capital, added, “It has been a pleasure to work with Mike and his team. EspriGas is an excellent example of how we leverage the Council Model to partner management teams with a deep bench of industry and functional experts and facilitate new customer relationships. Whether it was expanding within healthcare, finding new markets, automating operations, or acquiring competitors, we were happy to provide EspriGas with access to the right mix of resources to help them grow and execute. We wish Mike and his team the best in the next phase of their growth; we know they will continue down the path of success.”
About Council Capital
Council Capital is a healthcare-focused private equity firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. Council Capital invests in lower middle market healthcare-related companies where it can drive growth by applying the Council Model, a strategic approach that pairs best-in-class management teams with the CEO Council, healthcare industry executives who are also fund investors; Strategic Healthcare Investors; and Shared Portfolio Executives, functional experts who provide additional resources in key roles to portfolio companies. Council Capital leverages its unique model to attract and support leading management teams and portfolio companies on the ‘right side’ of change in the healthcare industry – where growth will accelerate as cost pressure and quality demands increase. Council Capital targets control and minority investments with enterprise values between $10 million and $50 million.