Standard Equipment

With its headquarters in Elmhurst, Illinois, Standard Equipment Company (“SECO”) is a distributor, reseller, and servicer of utility and sewage equipment serving municipalities, contractors, and other businesses throughout Chicagoland and the surrounding region. Initially established in 1969 as a distributor of Elgin® street sweepers, the Company grew its offering to include Vactor® sewage trucks, Autocar® chassis, Envirosight® sewer televising equipment, Ring-O-Matic® vacuum excavation products, and other industrial equipment brands. Beyond selling industrial equipment, Standard Equipment also generates revenue through industrial equipment leasing and an extensive aftermarket parts & service business to address varying customer needs.

As second-generation family ownership contemplated shareholder liquidity and transition goals, Promontory was engaged to explore strategic alternatives for the business. Promontory’s engagement began with preparing the business for sale which included the preparation of a comprehensive Memorandum and performing extensive research on acquirers that may be attracted to SECO’s complete product & service offering. Given the Company’s strong market presence, solid industry reputation, and diversified revenue stream, Promontory attracted substantial interest from both strategic acquirers and private equity buyers.

After soliciting Letters of Intent from multiple bidders for SECO, Promontory recommended proceeding with an offer proposed by Federal Signal Corporation (NYSS: FSS), a leading global designer, manufacturer, and supplier of equipment and solutions that service municipal, governmental, industrial, and commercial customers. Promontory assisted Standard Equipment in negotiating a Letter of Intent, managed all due diligence activities, and helped the parties close the transaction. The transaction allowed Standard Equipment’s shareholders to achieve their desired ownership liquidity objectives while aligning the business with a partner to support SECO’s next phase of growth.