Private equity firm Pacific Avenue Capital Partners closes acquisition of KiddeFenwal

LOS ANGELES — Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in spin-offs and complex situations, has completed the acquisition of KiddeFenwal, a manufacturer and designer of industrial and commercial fire protection systems and safety controls.

According to a joint statement, the agreement “provides KiddeFenwal with significant growth opportunities while enabling it to continue to expand its market share both in the U.S. and globally.”

Under Pacific Avenue, KiddeFenwal “will increase its focus on serving a growing, diverse base of customers and end users who require the highly integrated, competitively priced, customer-facing fire protection and security control systems for which the company has long been known,” the announcement said.

In addition, it will “accelerate product competitiveness and innovation by expanding and enhancing its proprietary, fully certified offerings as regulators drive transitions to more environmentally friendly solutions in industries including power generation and transmission, data centers, commercial food service, marine and HVAC,” according to a joint announcement.

Why Pacific Avenue Capital Acquired KiddeFenwal

“With its enviable product portfolio, established brand equity and strong customer relationships, KiddeFenwal has long been a dominant global leader in the fire safety and control systems category. Now it is poised to truly accelerate its growth,” said James Oh, partner at Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, in a joint announcement.

“Our team looks forward to helping the company fully leverage its strong foundation and favorable market conditions, driving innovation and investing in operations that support our extraordinary teams and increase our value to customers who place great trust in us given the mission-critical nature of our products,” he said.

“Pacific Avenue’s breadth and depth of experience in middle market carve-outs and executing complex situations was critical to our partnership with Carrier on this transaction,” said Chris Sznewajs, founder and managing partner of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, in a joint announcement.

“I am thrilled to welcome the KiddeFenwal brand and team and look forward to everything that lies ahead for the company,” he says. “This company is uniquely positioned to build on its industry-leading brand and market position.”

Pacific Avenue Capital Partners has received approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to acquire substantially all of the assets of Kidde-Fenwal, Inc. on April 2, 2024, with a portion of the assets contributed by the company approved for acquisition by an affiliate of Pacific Avenue.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated served as financial advisor to Pacific Avenue and Raines Feldman Littrell LLP served as legal advisor.

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