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Audax Private Equity Announces Sale of Liquid Environmental Solutions

via Business Wire

Audax Private Equity (“Audax”), a capital partner for middle and lower middle market companies, announced today it has agreed to the sale of Liquid Environmental Solutions (“LES” or “the company”), a national service provider within the circular economy, managing non-hazardous liquid waste for its blue-chip customer base. Goldman Sachs Alternatives is acquiring the company. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

LES, based in Irving Texas and founded in 2002, collects, treats, and beneficially recovers materials from a variety of liquid waste sources, including grease traps, oil water separators, used cooking oil and other non-hazardous liquid waste for the restaurant, grocery chain, hospitality, education, and environmental services sectors.

Audax acquired the company in the fourth quarter of 2017, and since then has executed its Buy & Build strategy, nearly doubling the company’s footprint. LES, today, operates over 90 locations across 50 states. In addition to investments in the team and operational infrastructure, LES executed 13 acquisitions that helped to drive both geographic growth as well as entry into adjacent services, which together helped to reinforce the company’s value proposition among national chains and local customers.

“Audax has been a terrific partner throughout their investment in LES, and brought both a vision and strategic resources to bear that supported our go-to-market strategy and helped us serve our customers across the country,” noted Jerry Sheridan, CEO of Liquid Environmental Solutions.

“We want to thank Jerry and the entire LES team,” added Joe Rogers, a Partner at Audax Private Equity. “Through managing the entire liquid-waste lifecycle, LES provides an essential service to its clients, while supporting sustainability programs that protect critical infrastructure and help to divert liquid waste from landfills. We believe Goldman Sachs Alternatives represents an ideal partner and fit for LES, as the company pursues its next stage of growth.”

The exit for Audax represents the firm’s ninth realization that has either closed or been announced since June of last year. It is also the third exit out of the firm’s Industrial Services & Technologies specialization over that time, following the sales of EIS last November and Thermogenics in June, the latter of which represented the first realization out of Audax Private Equity’s lower middle market Origins Fund.

The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Houlihan Lokey served as lead financial advisor to LES and Audax Private Equity, with Baird serving as co-advisor and Ropes & Gray and Frederikson & Byron acting as legal counsels. Stifel served as financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal counsel for Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

ABOUT AUDAX PRIVATE EQUITY:

Headquartered in Boston, with offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Hong Kong, Audax Private Equity manages three strategies: its Flagship and Origins private equity strategies, seeking control buyouts in the core middle and lower middle markets, respectively, and its Strategic Capital strategy that provides customized equity solutions to PE-backed portfolio companies to help drive continued growth. With approximately $19 billion of assets under management as of March 2025, over 290 team members, and 100-plus investment professionals, Audax has invested in 175 platforms and over 1,400 add-on acquisitions since its founding in 1999. Through our disciplined Buy & Build approach, across six core industry verticals, Audax seeks to help portfolio companies execute organic and inorganic growth initiatives with the aim of fueling revenue expansion, optimizing operations, and significantly increasing equity value. For more information, visit www.audaxprivateequity.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

ABOUT LIQUID ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS:

Liquid Environmental Solutions, founded in 2002, provides a full range of turnkey solutions for the collection, transportation, processing, recycling, reclamation and disposal of non-hazardous liquid wastes. The company serves restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, automotive and equipment maintenance sectors and companies that place a priority on sustainability, service and recycling. To learn more, visit www.liquidenviro.com.

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