Freedom Electronics Completes Acquisition of ESCO

KENNESAW, Ga. & STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Freedom Electronics (“Freedom”), a portfolio company of Summit Park, is pleased to announce the acquisition of ESCO Services, Inc. (“ESCO Michigan”) and ESCO Manufacturing, LLC (“ESCO Florida”) (collectively “ESCO” or “the Company”), a provider of aftermarket refurbished electronic parts with locations in Michigan, Colorado, and Florida.

Founded in 1979, ESCO provides aftermarket refurbished electronic parts to distributors and service technicians, primarily serving the retail fueling and petroleum end markets. ESCO’s broad product offering, national presence, and excellent customer service have established ESCO as one of the premier providers of aftermarket electronic parts in the United States.

Freedom, headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, is a leading aftermarket provider of electronic components, such as printers, screens, and card readers, for use in convenience stores and fueling stations (“c-stores”) across the U.S. and Canada. The combination of Freedom and ESCO creates the largest supplier of new and remanufactured aftermarket parts in the retail petroleum industry.

Patrick Jeitler, CEO of Freedom, said, “ESCO is a very well-respected company with a long history. Both companies share the same values of providing outstanding customer service and a high level of urgency to our customers. We are confident that the combination will allow us to expand our relationships with many customers while allowing us to serve a much larger portion of their needs.”

Mike York, a Partner at Summit Park, added, “Freedom and ESCO are an exciting combination because it establishes a national platform with leading technical capabilities, expanded sourcing relationships, and a diversified product portfolio driving a better customer experience. We continue to be bullish on the aftermarket in the retail petroleum space and think adding ESCO to Freedom positions the business very well going forward.”

Summit Park, a lower middle market private equity firm, invested in Freedom in December 2018. ESCO is Freedom’s first acquisition.

About Freedom Electronics

Freedom offers over 2,300 electronic components used in fuel dispensers, retail point-of-sale systems, and automatic tank gauges. Through the Company’s best-in-class repair procedures, sourcing capabilities, and engineering expertise, Freedom is the most trusted partner to a national customer base, including retailers, parts distributors, and equipment service companies seeking quality, cost competitive electronic parts. In addition to its parts remanufacturing business, Freedom also provides a logistics and warehousing solution for customers’ electronic components inventory that minimizes downtime and ensures customers always have parts in stock. For more information, visit www.freedomelectronics.com.

About Summit Park

Summit Park is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based private investment firm focused exclusively on the lower middle market. The firm invests across a range of industries, including services, consumer, and industrial growth. The firm’s capital can be used to facilitate a change in ownership, to support expansion and growth, to provide partial liquidity to existing owners, or to support an industry consolidation plan. Currently, the firm is investing Summit Park III, a $245 million fund that closed in 2018. For more information, visit www.summitparkllc.com.