Lazear Capital Partners is pleased to announce the sale of Gioia Capital’s portfolio company, Home Power / Commercial Power System to TurnPoint Services. Lazear Capital served as exclusive advisor to Gioia Capital.
“This was our first exit, so choosing the right investment banker was critical.” said Bruce Popko, Gioia Capital’s COO. Richard Gioia added “ Todd understood our business and knew the buyers on a personal level. That made all the difference. We also had access to Todd whenever we needed him, as well as the resources of Lazear, at the highest level, when we encountered a deal challenge. We would work with Lazear again and recommend them to our colleagues.”
Read about the transaction below.
Article reposted with permission from Buffalo Business First.
By Dan Miner – Reporter, Buffalo Business First
Sep 8, 2022
Home Power Systems became the first company acquired by Gioia Capital after it was formed in 2019 by the father-son team of Richard E. Gioia and Richard F. Gioia and Bruce Popko.
Home Power Systems approximately doubled its revenue in three years.
Now it’s the first company sold by the Buffalo-based private equity firm, which looks to take family-held small businesses and give them a level of sophistication to prepare them for their next life cycles.
Home Power Systems, based in Rochester but with presences in Syracuse and Buffalo as well, was recently sold to TurnPoint Services.
Kentucky-based TurnPoint has nearly 50 locally based service businesses in HVAC, plumbing and the generator industries. Home Power Systems specializes in the installation and servicing of residential and commercial installations of electric generators.
Richard F. Gioia, the son, declined to detail the specific terms of the sale, but he said the value of the company doubled in three years and that it is a good deal for everyone involved.
Popko said Gioia Capital stepped into a business with a strong foundation and added professional marketing, sales and operational expertise. He said a new generation of Home Power Systems company managers were empowered to start making day-to-day and strategic decisions.
“This was a business with a very strong foundation, but we knew it had another level,” Popko said. “We had a management team that has done extraordinary things, and we believe they’re a big part of why TurnPoint agreed they could take it to the next level.”
Gioia Capital now has three companies in its portfolio – Al Cohen’s Rye Bread Bakery, Precision Abrasives and Phoenix Graphics – and is actively considering new acquisitions. Gioia Capital funds its deals through a call-based model, sourcing each deal from its network of investors.
Gioia said each of the firm’s investments are doing well. He said Gioia Capital has found its investment sweet spot.
“When family businesses are looking to exit, they’re not always poised to sell to a big strategic buyer like TurnPoint,” Gioia said. “We focus on professionalizing the entrepreneurial business model and getting it ready to fit in with a larger strategic company.”
Article reposted with permission from Buffalo Business First.