Exclusive: GSAM tees up Divcon Controls for sale, sources say
Goldman Sachs Alternatives, the climate-focused investment strategy of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), is lining up for sale its 2024 portfolio company Divcon Controls, three sources briefed on the matter told PE Hub.
Based in Dallas, Divcon provides building management and electrical power monitoring services for data centers and other mission-critical facilities, enabling customers to control, automate and monitor energy and power functions.
The investment firm recently retained JPMorgan Securities as Divcon’s sellside adviser to prepare marketing materials for the energy service provider to data centers, the three sources said.
The company is appealing to a broad slate of sustainability-focused private equity firms and some strategics like Honeywell and Rockwell Automation, one of the sources said.
With cyclical market tailwinds creating increased valuations for power installation and engineering firms to data center companies, Divcon could sell for more than 15x-17x its EBITDA of $70 million, pegging the company at a valuation of $1 billion to $1.2 billion, two of the sources said. The median multiple for mature B2C professional, scientific and technical service providers over the last 12 months is 13.6x, according to SIPA privateMetrics. For more on multiples in the power infrastructure business, see our previous coverage.
Divcon was formed in 2017 by co-founders Ben Crowell and John Palacios, building automation industry veterans. Since 2020, Divcon has supported more than 90 data center installations, representing over 3GW of mission-critical load on the power grid, according to its website. Goldman Sachs Research estimates that the global data center market currently uses around 55GW of power, with around 122GW of data center power capacity expected to be online by the end of 2030.
GSAM declined to comment. JPMorgan did not respond to requests for comment.
