Flow Control Group to Receive Investment from Neuberger Private Markets

Flow Control Group (FCG), a leading North American network of technical flow control and industrial automation distributors and solutions providers, today announced that KKR, the Company’s existing investor, and Neuberger Private Markets (“Neuberger”) have agreed to jointly acquire the Company. As part of this transaction, funds managed by KKR will maintain majority ownership of FCG, with Neuberger holding a significant minority interest in the Company.

Since KKR’s initial acquisition of Flow Control Group in 2021, the Company has scaled into a preeminent platform in the distribution sector with revenue and EBITDA more than tripling over KKR’s ownership period. This has been driven by a strategy focused on growing the business organically, while also expanding through strategic acquisitions. By advancing cross-selling, expanding technical service capabilities, and investing extensively in digital and IT infrastructure, KKR has helped broaden the Company’s reach across new end-markets and strengthen technical offerings that serve critical North American industries.

This growth includes substantial investments in FCG’s workforce of over 1,000 technical sales professionals and 600 service technicians, who support customers in key end-markets like water & wastewater, life sciences, aerospace & defense, food & beverage, power generation, and high-growth segments such as data centers and advanced automation. Through differentiated training and recruitment efforts, FCG has invested extensively in its best-in-class workforce. These efforts have allowed FCG to take a differentiated partnership approach with suppliers and customers.

“Flow Control Group exemplifies KKR’s approach of taking great businesses to the next level through a combination of strategic acquisitions and operational value creation,” said Josh Weisenbeck, Partner at KKR that leads KKR’s Industrials industry team within KKR’s North American private equity platform. “We are proud of the progress achieved to date and look forward to strategically partnering with Neuberger’s Private Markets team, FCG’s management team, and the many highly engaged employee-owners to support the Company’s next phase of growth.”

“We’ve followed Flow Control Group’s evolution over the past decade,” said David Stonberg, Deputy Head of Neuberger Private Markets, “and we view the platform as a best-in-class distributor and key technical provider for its customers in industries benefiting from favorable tailwinds. As a result of its strong technical differentiation, resilient business model, and proven track record of growth, we couldn’t be more pleased to collaborate with KKR, the management team, and FCG’s employee-owners to support the Company’s continued expansion and long-term value creation.”

At the time of KKR’s 2021 acquisition, KKR implemented a broad-based ownership program, whereby all employees of Flow Control Group became owners in the Company.

“One of the most impactful parts of working with KKR was their focus on employee ownership and engagement,” said Raymond Aronoff, Chief Executive Officer and President of Flow Control Group. “Throughout our strategic partnership, we’ve created a winning culture oriented around ownership. This includes our ‘Pathway to the Summit’ – a shared strategic vision to guide employee-owners toward a successful financial outcome for all stakeholders. Alignment around a strong vision of value-added distribution and technical services, coupled with a true sense of ownership by all employees, supported FCG’s transformation into a scaled platform focused on delivering critical products, solutions, and technical expertise to our valued customers and suppliers. KKR has played a critical role in supporting our growth, and we are excited to welcome Neuberger as we continue to expand our capabilities, invest in our team, and pursue new opportunities across our markets.”

As part of this ownership program and contingent on the successful closing of the sale, all of the Company’s more than 3,000 employees will receive cash payouts. With a continued commitment to employee ownership, KKR and Neuberger intend to re-establish the broad-based ownership program at FCG following the closing. Neuberger has also been a member of Ownership Works’ coalition of financial services partners that support the creation of financial opportunity for all employees and build stronger businesses in the process.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in Q2 2026.

KKR and FCG were advised by Solomon Partners as financial and M&A advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis and Debevoise served as legal advisors on this transaction. Evercore served as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor to Neuberger.

Stay informed with PE Newswire for authoritative coverage of global private capital markets, including the latest deals, fundraising activity, in-depth insights, and data-driven analysis.