City of Industry-based electrical and data giant Morrow-Meadows Corp. recently announced plans to purchase Santa Fe Springs-based Pacific Data Electric Inc., an energy storage firm with a toehold in an emerging multibillion-dollar market.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, which Morrow-Meadows’ President Robert Meadows said is the company’s largest, is expected to close in February.
Morrow Meadows reported just under $600 million in revenue in 2019 and has more than 2,100 employees, according to Meadows. He also said it is the 11th largest electrical contractor in the United States.
Morrow-Meadows, which also claims to be the largest electrical contractor in Southern California, installs electrical cabling and fiber optic lines in buildings that run computer and data systems.
The company’s last major acquisition came in 2015 when it purchased Tustin-based electrical engineering firm R.E. Wall and Associates Inc. Other small electrical contractor firms in Northern California and Oregon have since been purchased, but Pacific Data Electric is the biggest, Meadows said in an interview.
“This business merger will enable us to leverage new, innovative business opportunities both domestically and globally to meet and respond to the changing needs of the energy sector,” Meadows said.
Pacific Data Electric will operate under the new name of PDE Total Energy Solutions, a division of Morrow-Meadows.
PDE Total Energy Solutions hopes to expand its battery energy storage systems business once the financial muscle of Morrow-Meadows is in place.
“PDE is really ahead of the curve in the energy storage area,” Meadows said. “We plan to expand domestically and internationally in the area of energy storage.”
He cited a recent report prepared by Washington, D.C.-based Energy Storage Association and Edinburgh, Scotland-based Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables that estimates the energy storage market – and lithium batteries in particular – will grow into a $4.6 billion market by 2023.
The U.S. energy storage market is expected to grow to $541 million in 2019 before crossing the billion-dollar threshold in 2019, according to the report.
“This market is about to explode,” Meadows observed.
Morrow-Meadows is No. 51 on the Business Journal’s list of 150 largest private companies in Los Angeles County and No. 5 on the list of the largest telecommunications companies in L.A. County.
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Aristotle Enters Plus Capital Deal
West L.A.-based Aristotle Capital Management, which manages more than $19 billion in equity and fixed-income assets, entered into a distribution agreement with Sydney-based Plus Capital Management to market Aristotle’s institutional offerings in Australia.
Plus Capital will focus its efforts on introducing Aristotle’s global equity strategy to qualified Australian institutional investors and their advisors.
“They have clients across world, but this is heavily focused on Australia,” said Aristotle spokeswoman Trish Ross. “This would be the first time they have had a dedicated distribution agreement with a third party in the Asia and Pacific Rim,” she said.
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Pollen Gear Bought
Hermosa Beach-based Pollen Gear, which offers storage solution for cannabis products aimed at higher-end consumers and retailers, was bought by Boca Raton, Fla.-based Greenlane Holdings. Greenlane distributes pot vaporization products and consumption accessories.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Greenlane has been the exclusive distributor of Pollen Gear products over the last three years. Pollen Gear also offers consumer products and packaging to various companies, including Nike Inc., the Beaverton, Ore.-based footwear and athletic apparel-maker; Sirius XM Holdings Inc., the New York City-based provider of satellite and online radio services; Starbucks Corp., a Seattle-based coffee retail chain; and Unilever Group, the London-based consumer goods company.
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B. Riley Repositions Research Arm
B. Riley FBR Inc., the investment bank unit of Woodland Hills-based B. Riley Financial Inc., said earlier this month it repositioned its research platform to refocus coverage on small and mid-cap issuers.
The firm eliminated research coverage of 70 predominately larger-cap companies to repurpose research and analysis resources toward small and mid-cap opportunities.
“At our core, B. Riley is dedicated to providing thoughtful and differentiated research on unappreciated and undervalued small and mid-cap companies well-positioned for growth,” B. Riley FBR Chief Executive Andy Moore said.
Have a deal tip? Pat Maio can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8329.
