Kian Capital and its portfolio company Team Air Distributing announced the acquisition of Best Choice Supply (BCS)

By Kian Capital Partners

9/5/2024

Kian-Backed Team Air Distributing Expands Platform with the Acquisition of Best Choice Supply Company

CHARLOTTE, NC and ATLANTA, GA (September 5, 2024) Kian Capital-backed Team Air Distributing (“Team Air”), a leading wholesale distributor providing OEM-branded HVAC equipment, parts and supplies to residential and commercial contractors, has completed the acquisition of Best Choice Supply (“BCS”), a family-owned HVAC wholesale distributor.

BCS was founded in 1988 and has a long track record of providing high-quality service to the Lexington and Somerset, KY regions. The company is committed to providing exceptional service and high-quality products, focusing on long-term partnerships with its strong and loyal customer base. The move broadens Team Air’s product offering by expanding its parts and supplies business and adding custom metal fabrication to the platform’s capabilities. Team Air will now have approximately 200 employees and 12 branch locations, including its corporate headquarters.

Kian invested in the company in May 2023 and has since seen considerable early success in executing on the firm’s Blueprint for Enduring Value^TM to drive growth and value creation for all Team Air stakeholders. In Q3 2023, less than six months after the platform investment, the company was awarded new exclusive territories in Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Southern Illinois from its OEM partner American Standard.

“The BCS team is thrilled to join forces with a company that not only shares our culture but has also seen great success in the last two years,” said BCS Chief Operating Officer Alex Mesalam, whose father, Randy Mesalam, co-founded the company. “A key factor in this decision was the shared family values between the BCS and Team Air team. I look forward to continuing my family’s legacy and serving our longtime customer base in partnership with Team Air.”

“Adding BCS to Team Air deepens our existing presence in Kentucky and Indiana, allowing us to provide better market coverage for those customers through expanded delivery options and more pick-up points,” said Team Air President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Wallace. “Our goal at the outset of our partnership with Kian was to continuously seek to join forces with parts and supplies-focused distributors to scale the business and expand our line card. The addition of BCS to Team Air does exactly that.”

Team Air will continue to evaluate strategic and culturally aligned acquisitions in the highly fragmented residential and commercial HVAC market to build density in existing markets and strategically target geographic expansion. The Team Air and BCS partnership aligns seamlessly with Kian’s strategy of working with family—and founder-owned businesses.

Team Air is actively seeking partnerships with like-minded founders with businesses that supply wholesale residential and commercial equipment, parts and supplies including HVAC, plumbing and electrical. Business owners interested in learning more should contact David Duke, Partner, Business Development at Kian, at dduke@kiancapital.com.

About Best Choice Supply

Founded in 1988 by Dan Kemper and Randy Mesalam, Best Choice Supply is an HVAC wholesale distributor with locations in Lexington and Somerset, Kentucky. Best Choice Supply is committed to providing exceptional service and high-quality products, with a long track record of service to its customer base. To learn more, visit www.bestchoicesupply.com.

About Team Air Distributing

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Team Air Distributing is a leading wholesale distributor providing OEM-branded HVAC equipment, parts and supplies to residential and commercial contractors. Team Air’s management team has combined experience of over 50 years with the company and over 100 years in the industry. Providing best-in-class customer service, creating loyal partnerships, utilizing technological advancements and distributing the best products available are the foundation of Team Air’s success. Team Air partners with only the most trusted and forward-thinking brands such as American Standard, Mitsubishi, GeoStar Geothermal and ClimateMaster Geothermal. To learn more, visit www.teamairdist.com.

About Kian Capital Partners

At Kian, we forge partnerships to ignite growth and build enduring value. Our goal is to provide flexible financial resources and additional operational horsepower to scale lower-middle-market businesses, realize aspirations and deliver long-term investment returns through genuine partnership. Proud to be recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for three consecutive years, Kian is a private investment firm with $1 billion of capital under management and a focus on four core industry sectors: consumer, services, value-added distribution and specialty manufacturing. Our team of seasoned investors has over 100 years of collective experience providing transformational capital solutions and board-level strategic and operational guidance to founder/owner operated businesses. To learn more, visit www.kiancapital.com.

Disclaimer

This article does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any investments or securities, including any securities of Kian Capital (“Kian”), or any funds or accounts managed or advised by Kian in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation.

Any such offer or solicitation may be made only by means of the delivery of a confidential private offering memorandum (the “Memorandum”), which will contain material information not included herein regarding, among other things, information with respect to risks and potential conflicts of interest, and other offering and governance documents of any given fund or account (collectively with the Memorandum, the “Fund Documents”).