Harris Williams Advises Franklin Energy Group on its Sale to Abry Partners

Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces that it advised Franklin Energy Group (Franklin Energy), a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, LLC (Kohlberg), on its sale to Abry Partners (Abry). Franklin Energy is a leading provider of demand-side management (DSM) solutions to utility clients. The transaction was led by Luke Semple, Drew Spitzer and Ian Thomas of the Harris Williams Energy, Power & Infrastructure (EPI) Group and Brian Lucas of the firm’s Business Services Group.

“Franklin Energy is a truly differentiated platform that provides a comprehensive, vertically-integrated and seamless experience for its utility clients,” said Luke Semple, a managing director at Harris Williams. “The company is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the strong growth and increasing importance of DSM programs in utility client portfolios.”

“We’re thrilled to have worked with Franklin Energy for the second time, and we believe Abry is an excellent partner for management as they execute the company’s next phase of growth,” said Drew Spitzer, a managing director at Harris Williams. “We look forward to seeing what the company will accomplish next.”

“We continue to see strong interest in service-based companies,” added Brian Lucas, a managing director at Harris Williams. “Franklin Energy is yet another success story of a company that delivers a differentiated service to a client base that requires the expertise of an outsourced service provider to operate more effectively and profitably.”

Franklin Energy was formed through the merger of Franklin Energy Services and AM Conservation Group, and the subsequent acquisition of PlanetEcosystems, resulting in a vertically-integrated DSM company that offers outsourced energy efficiency and demand response program management services, product fulfillment and customer engagement software to utility clients. Leveraging 30 years of expertise, the company has a nationwide footprint and serves the residential, commercial and industrial, multi-family and small business end markets. Franklin Energy is headquartered in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Kohlberg is a leading private equity firm headquartered in Mount Kisco, New York. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized eight private equity funds, through which it has raised over $7.5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 32-year history, Kohlberg has completed 79 platform investments and nearly 200 add-on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value of over $20 billion.