From time to time, the announcement of a closed deal in the news catches my eye. These deals can range from A to Z in terms of industries, acquirers, locations, etc. What they all typically have in common is that they highlight forward thinking on the part of the acquirer.

One thing that continually amazes me is the leading-edge thinking that equity firms use to determine the industry and/or businesses they are going to target. The folks managing solidly performing equity firms are usually thinking three to five years down the road and are anticipating what the economy will look like then, not necessarily what it looks like right now.

A deal announced last week falls into this category. Alpine Investors (Alpine), a middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, announced that it had invested in Berkeys Air Conditioning and Plumbing, a leading provider of residential plumbing and HVAC services in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area. [Read more…]