ColonialWebb has been sold.
The Richmond-based mechanical and electrical contractor yesterday became the 41st subsidiary of Comfort Systems USA. The publicly traded giant from Texas has had its eye on this region and ColonialWebb for some time.
“We understand now they have been looking at us for years, looking at the opportunity for when they might acquire the company,” said Mitch Haddon, president and chief executive at ColonialWebb.
The deal came to be, according to Haddon, after the family that owned ColonialWebb began to consider succession plans for the company. Howard Webb Sr. and Howard Webb Jr., both of whom live in Hampton Roads, were the sole owners.
Richmond-based Harris Williams & Co. helped broker the deal, which closed yesterday. Neither side released any financial details of the deal.
“This transaction was between Comfort Systems and the two Webbs,” Haddon said.
The transition into Comfort Systems will be seamless for ColonialWebb’s employees and customers, Haddon said.
The ColonialWebb name will remain, and it will continue to operate out of its Richmond headquarters near East Parham Road. All 1,200 ColonialWebb employees and its management team will remain in place.
“Comfort Systems allows subsidiaries to operate with a tremendous amount of autonomy,” Haddon said.
Large deals have been a part of ColonialWebb’s history since the 1990s.
The predecessor of ColonialWebb began as two companies in 1972: Colonial Mechanical in Richmond and Webb Technologies in Norfolk. Colonial and Webb were then acquired by First Energy Corp. in 1999. They operated as subsidiaries of First Energy until 2003, when the Webb family bought both Webb and Colonial back.
The two merged in 2005 to create ColonialWebb.
The company brings approximately $200 million in annual revenue into Comfort’s fold. Comfort generates $1.1 billion a year and operates in more than 80 cities.
Operating under the Comfort umbrella will give ColonialWebb access to the resources of a much larger firm. Haddon said that will allow it to go after larger regional and national clients. It will also help it compete better against other large firms.
“We’re finding ourselves competing against larger and larger organizations,” Haddon said. “It gives us a different kind of footing and increased leverage.”
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
ColonialWebb has been sold.
The Richmond-based mechanical and electrical contractor yesterday became the 41st subsidiary of Comfort Systems USA. The publicly traded giant from Texas has had its eye on this region and ColonialWebb for some time.
“We understand now they have been looking at us for years, looking at the opportunity for when they might acquire the company,” said Mitch Haddon, president and chief executive at ColonialWebb.
The deal came to be, according to Haddon, after the family that owned ColonialWebb began to consider succession plans for the company. Howard Webb Sr. and Howard Webb Jr., both of whom live in Hampton Roads, were the sole owners.
Richmond-based Harris Williams & Co. helped broker the deal, which closed yesterday. Neither side released any financial details of the deal.
“This transaction was between Comfort Systems and the two Webbs,” Haddon said.
The transition into Comfort Systems will be seamless for ColonialWebb’s employees and customers, Haddon said.
The ColonialWebb name will remain, and it will continue to operate out of its Richmond headquarters near East Parham Road. All 1,200 ColonialWebb employees and its management team will remain in place.
“Comfort Systems allows subsidiaries to operate with a tremendous amount of autonomy,” Haddon said.
Large deals have been a part of ColonialWebb’s history since the 1990s.
The predecessor of ColonialWebb began as two companies in 1972: Colonial Mechanical in Richmond and Webb Technologies in Norfolk. Colonial and Webb were then acquired by First Energy Corp. in 1999. They operated as subsidiaries of First Energy until 2003, when the Webb family bought both Webb and Colonial back.
The two merged in 2005 to create ColonialWebb.
The company brings approximately $200 million in annual revenue into Comfort’s fold. Comfort generates $1.1 billion a year and operates in more than 80 cities.
Operating under the Comfort umbrella will give ColonialWebb access to the resources of a much larger firm. Haddon said that will allow it to go after larger regional and national clients. It will also help it compete better against other large firms.
“We’re finding ourselves competing against larger and larger organizations,” Haddon said. “It gives us a different kind of footing and increased leverage.”
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].