WESTPORT, CT – Sterling Investment Partners (“Sterling”), a leading middle market private equity firm, is pleased to announce that, in partnership with, Randolph Hoover and Benjamin Hoover, the CEO and President, respectively, of Xylem, Inc. (“Xylem”), it has acquired Xylem and combined it with Sterling’s existing portfolio company Kendall Vegetation Services (“Kendall” and together with Xylem, the “Company”). The Company will be led by Co-CEOs Randolph Hoover and Robert Williams, who will be supported by Benjamin Hoover as President and Kurt Goodman as CFO. The Company employs over 2,000 employees and provides services in over 20 states. Immediately following the closing, Kendall and Xylem will continue to operate in their existing markets under their existing brands and maintain their respective employee bases.

Randolph Hoover stated, “Our partnership with Sterling has enabled the execution of our vision to merge two of the nation’s leading vegetation management companies. Our combined platform will enable the Company to expand vegetation management services to new markets and provide emergency storm response services to the entire eastern seaboard, the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and everything in between. We are excited to have Sterling and Kendall as our partners, and it was obvious from the very beginning that their vision aligns with ours.”

Robert Williams, CEO of Kendall, added, “With Sterling’s guidance and support, we are very pleased to partner with Xylem and provide to our combined customer base the best of both businesses’ excellent cultures and service track records. We are excited about expanding our geographic reach, continuing to build a world-class business services platform, and realizing meaningful value creation opportunities across the U.S.”

Sterling Managing Partner and Co-Founder Charles Santoro commented, “We are very impressed by the powerful and common alignment between the two organizations, including similar cultures with a primary focus on safety, reliability, and employee welfare. Our combined platform will continue to offer essential core vegetation management services to meet the needs of important customers in an expanded geography. We are particularly pleased to have our strong leadership team augmented by Randolph Hoover as Co-CEO and by Benjamin Hoover as President. We enthusiastically share a common strategy and vision for the future with Xylem’s and Kendall’s leaders in a large, fragmented and highly attractive market.” Joe Gault, Partner at Sterling, added, “We are very excited to partner with Xylem and Kendall, as both companies enable the safe and reliable performance of this country’s energy grid and benefit millions of Americans every day.”

Xylem, headquartered in Wakefield, VA and Kendall, headquartered in Lawrenceville, GA are both leading providers of vegetation management and emergency storm response services throughout the United States. The Company’s customers include major investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, and municipalities.

Sterling Investment Partners is a private equity firm that has been investing in and building middlemarket companies for over 30 years with a highly experienced, cohesive team of senior investment professionals. Sterling focuses on value-added distribution and business services, acquiring businesses that the firm believes have strong, sustainable competitive advantages and significant opportunities for value creation. Over its history, Sterling has completed over 210 transactions, representing approximately $25 billion in aggregate value. www.sterlinglp.com