Houlihan Lokey, Deutsche Bank advise sale of Stonehill Environmental Partners

Houlihan Lokey has announced the sale of Stonehill Environmental Partners, a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital. The transaction closed March 11. 

Launched in 2021 with a de novo investment from Golden Gate in partnership with Stonehill CEO Jay Parkinson, Stonehill is an environmental services business that enables energy customers to recycle and dispose of water safely, reliably, economically and with minimal carbon emissions. Since Golden Gate’s investment, the business has quadrupled earnings organically through the growth of both new and existing contracts with premier energy counterparties.

Golden Gate Capital, Parkinson and the Stonehill team, including Tony Gutta, Vincent Lopez, Chris Stanton and Paul Donavan, previously partnered to establish Hillstone Environmental Partners, a provider of comprehensive water infrastructure solutions, which Golden Gate Capital sold to NGL Energy Partners LP for $600 million in October 2019.

“We are pleased to have completed another successful partnership with Jay and his talented team,” says Javier Puig, a managing director at Golden Gate Capital. “Over the past four years, Stonehill has firmly established itself as an industry-leading provider of environmentally friendly, efficient water solutions. In addition, Stonehill achieved strong financial results and impressive organic growth by leveraging a premier network of operating assets in the Midland Basin and executing long-term contracts with investment grade E&P companies.”

Golden Gate is a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on partnering with management teams to build exceptional consumer, industrial, technology and financial services companies. Since its founding in 2000, the firm has managed approximately $20 billion in cumulative committed capital.

“Golden Gate Capital has been an invaluable partner and has made significant investments to help drive our organic growth,” Parkinson says. “I am thankful for Golden Gate Capital’s support and our outstanding relationship over the years and am proud of the Stonehill team’s incredible work building the company into what it is today.”

Houlihan Lokey and Deutsche Bank served as financial advisors to Stonehill on the transaction, and Jones Day served as legal counsel. According to Houlihan Lokey, the deal represents its “preeminent position and continued success” advising clients in the environmental services sector, having successfully advised on 35 signed or closed transactions since the beginning of 2023.