Authority Brands, a leading home services franchising platform backed by funds advised by Apax Partners, announced today the acquisition of Clockwork, Inc., and certain of its affiliates (“Clockwork”) from Direct Energy Group, a subsidiary of Centrica plc. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019. The acquisition is the third home services add-on for Authority Brands since the company was acquired by funds advised by Apax Partners in September 2018.
Established in 1999, Clockwork delivers critical home services through three leading plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (“HVAC”) providers across the United States. Its household-name brands – Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® (“Benjamin Franklin”), Mister Sparky® electric, and One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® (“One Hour”) – are all rated among the best-in-class in their respective categories.
Authority Brands is the parent company to leading home services brands The Cleaning Authority, Homewatch CareGivers, America’s Swimming Pool Company and Mosquito Squad which operate across the residential cleaning, at-home care, swimming pool repair and maintenance, and pest control services sectors respectively. Authority Brands supports individual franchisee growth by providing strong marketing, technology and operational support.
Rob Weddle, CEO of Authority Brands, said: “The addition of the Clockwork group of brands is an important and significant step in the evolution of Authority Brands. All three brands are market-leading franchises within their respective industries and their addition to our portfolio doubles our overall system revenue to over $1 billion. This scale allows us to further strengthen each of our brand’s systems and continue down the path of becoming the home services franchisor of choice for both business owners and consumers.”
Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “We are delighted to support Authority Brands in this transformational acquisition. The Clockwork brands operate in attractive markets and will bring scale and diversification to Authority Brands’ platform. We anticipate substantial benefits for both businesses from cross-selling and collaboration across marketing, technology and operational support.”
Bruce Stewart, president of Direct Energy Home North America said: “The decision for this sale reflects our goals to focus and simplify our channels to customers and to own our own brands. Authority Brands is a good home for Clockwork and the franchise owners and customers will see no difference in our service delivery as we conclude this transaction.”
February 21, 2019