The Sterling Group Forms Frontline Road Safety and Completes the Acquisition of Stripe-A-Zone

HOUSTON, Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sterling Group, a Houston-based middle market private equity firm, today announced the establishment of Frontline Road Safety ("Frontline"), a new platform formed to build a national leader in the US road safety industry.

In conjunction with the establishment of Frontline, Sterling announced that it has partnered with Stripe-A-Zone as the first member of the Frontline family of companies. Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Stripe-A-Zone has been providing striping and related services on roads, highways, airports and parking lots for nearly 70 years.  For the last 24 years, the company has been owned and operated by the Sargent family, who have built the company in to a pavement marking leader in the state of Texas.

Over the last several years, Sterling has developed an investment thesis in the road safety and infrastructure maintenance industry. Sterling's study of the industry resulted in a strong relationship with Stripe-A-Zone management and the Sargent family.  Sterling and the Sargent family have formalized a partnership based on a vision to bring together leading companies from distinct geographies and share best practices. 

"In teaming with Stripe-A-Zone, we are establishing an outstanding foundation for the Frontline platform, partnering with best-in-class operators as we build a national leader in the road safety industry," said Brad Staller, Partner at The Sterling Group. 

"Joining with Sterling and Frontline was the right next step in the growth of our family's business given our shared vision for the industry," said David Sargent, President of Stripe-A-Zone.

Through organic growth and further M&A, Sterling intends to build Frontline into the leading road safety solutions provider with a national presence and best-in-class local execution capabilities. Sterling has a long history of partnering with family and entrepreneur owners and their management teams to support the growth of their businesses.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor to The Sterling Group.

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 57 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $14.0 billion. Currently, Sterling has over $4.0 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.

SOURCE The Sterling Group