Kohlberg Acquires Advanced Industrial Devices to Accelerate Growth Across Data Center, Water and Power Infrastructure Markets

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kohlberg, a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm, today announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Advanced Industrial Devices ("AID" or the "Company"), a provider of highly engineered automation and control solutions to mission-critical infrastructure, from Black Bay Partners (“Black Bay”). AID's existing management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Russell Claybrook, will retain a significant ownership interest in the Company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1983, AID develops systems that control motor speed, distribute power and automate critical operations across the data center, water and wastewater, power infrastructure and broader industrial markets. As computing demand drives the need for power and cooling infrastructure, AID's systems keep cooling towers, chillers, fans, compressors and pumps running reliably while reducing water and electricity use. The Company also helps utilities and infrastructure operators modernize aging systems, and provides field service, repair, training and engineering support to maximize efficiency and minimize downtime.

“This partnership marks a pivotal moment in our growth story and positions us to accelerate our next phase of expansion,” said Russell Claybrook. “Kohlberg brings extensive experience supporting and scaling companies that serve critical infrastructure markets and shares our commitment to engineering excellence, customer service and operational reliability. With Kohlberg's support, we will further invest in our people, capabilities and capacity to ensure we can meet and exceed the needs of our customers for years to come. We are grateful to Black Bay for its partnership over the past four years and look forward to this next chapter.”

“As demand for power increases across data centers and other critical infrastructure, the challenge for operators is not only power availability, but also power reliability. AID directly helps customers overcome these challenges,” commented Benjamin Mao, Senior Partner at Kohlberg. “In AID, we see a company that has established deep trust with its customers, and where Kohlberg’s extensive experience scaling businesses that support data center, power and water infrastructure will add meaningful value.”

“Rising compute demand is driving a real shift toward more advanced cooling infrastructure in data centers, and that's exactly where AID's solutions play a critical role,” added Ben Yu, Partner at Kohlberg. “We believe we are in the early innings of transformation in the digital infrastructure industry and look forward to partnering with Russell and the entire AID team to further their track record of developing and delivering innovative, customer-first solutions."

“Black Bay is very thankful for our fantastic partnership with the AID team and to be part of transforming the business into a diversified provider of highly engineered automation and control solutions that reduce energy consumption, improve equipment runtime and protect critical assets that communities and industries depend on. The AID team has rapidly expanded its capabilities and established a growing presence across the data center, energy, water and power infrastructure end-markets," said Matt Schovee, Partner at Black Bay.

"We would like to thank all of the dedicated employees at AID for their commitment to the mission. The partnership with AID is a great example of Black Bay’s strategy to provide solutions to address the evolving challenges in the energy, power and industrial markets. We wish Kohlberg and the AID team all the best with AID’s next chapter of growth,” concluded Michael LeBourgeois, Managing Partner at Black Bay.

Harris Williams served as financial advisor to AID. Baird served as financial advisor to Kohlberg. Ropes & Gray served as legal counsel and Kirkland & Ellis served as financing counsel to Kohlberg. Jones Walker LLP served as legal counsel to AID and Black Bay.

About Advanced Industrial Devices
AID designs and builds custom engineered solutions, in house and at scale, to optimally control and protect electrical assets across a wide range of mission-critical applications. For more information, please visit www.aidusa.com.

About Black Bay Partners
Black Bay is a specialized lower middle market private equity firm that partners with energy infrastructure and related industrial companies, with a track record of elevating and expanding portfolio companies through creative collaboration. Black Bay is currently investing out of its third fund and has more than $850 million in cumulative committed capital. For more information, please visit www.blackbaypartners.com.

About Kohlberg
Founded in 1987, Kohlberg is a leading U.S. middle market investment firm based in Mount Kisco, New York with deep experience investing across private equity and credit. Informed by its thesis-driven White Paper Program, Kohlberg invests in services and healthcare companies characterized by durable growth, recurring revenue streams and leading market positions. Kohlberg manages approximately $18 billion on behalf of investors globally. For more information, please visit www.kohlberg.com.