Blue Sage Joins Clean Team with Equity Buy

Contributed by BSM Staff

AUSTIN, Texas -- Blue Sage Capital recently completed an investment in Clean Team, LLC, a provider of commercial janitorial and facilities-cleaning services headquartered in Toledo, Ohio.

The transaction represents a new strategic partnership between Blue Sage and Clean Team’s founder and CEO, Bob Armbruster, who will continue to lead the Company and retain majority ownership.

Founded in 1996, Clean Team has grown into a scaled regional platform, operating 18 branches across 13 states and serving a diversified base of commercial, healthcare, industrial, and education clients.

The Company is distinguished by its direct-employed workforce model and has built a reputation for service quality and longstanding client relationships. The investment provides Clean Team with growth capital and an institutional partner to support its continued organic expansion and disciplined acquisition strategy.

“After building this business for 30 years, finding the right partner for our next chapter was not a decision I took lightly,” said Armbruster. “Blue Sage stood out for their genuine respect for what we’ve built and their commitment to supporting our team and culture as we continue to grow. I’m excited to have a thought partner with the financial and operational resources to help us continue to scale.”

Jonathan Kaskow, partner at Blue Sage, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Bob Armbruster and the entire Clean Team organization. Bob has built an exceptional business with an impressive track record of growth. We look forward to supporting the Company’s continued growth within existing markets and targeted expansion into new geographies.”

Blue Sage was represented in the transaction by Queen Saenz + Schutz PLLC (Legal), Kroll (Accounting), Cherry Bekaert (Tax), and Lockton (Insurance & Benefits). Capital One and Fifth Third provided debt financing for the transaction.

Clean Team was represented in the transaction by BlackArch Partners (Financial Advisor) and Holland & Knight LLP (Legal).

Blue Sage Capital is an Austin, Texas-based private equity firm that has been investing in profitable, growing, lower middle-market companies since 2002. Blue Sage currently has over $1.2 billion of assets under management and typically invests $25 million to $60 million in buyout investments and recapitalizations of companies with $25 million to $200 million of revenue.

For more, go to cleanteam.com.