February 07, 2017

Croft & Bender Serves as Financial Advisor to Juniper Landscaping on its Recapitalization by ZS Fund

Croft & Bender, an Atlanta-based investment banking and private equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful recapitalization of its client, Juniper Landscaping (the “Company”), by ZS Fund.

Juniper Landscaping is a major provider of landscaping services to commercial customers in the single-family and multi-family real estate markets in Southwest Florida. The Company operates out of four locations and serves residential developers, homeowners associations and property management companies. Juniper Landscaping was founded in 2003. The Company offers a full-suite of landscaping services including design, installation, and maintenance and is recognized as a market leader and trusted partner in the Southwest Florida building market. Juniper Landscaping has approximately 350 employees and is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida.

Croft & Bender served as the exclusive financial advisor to Juniper Landscaping on the transaction. “I can't say enough about C&B as trusted advisors. Their proactive, hardworking, and tenacious demeanor was present from start to finish. C&B's process, experience and expertise was key to allowing us to navigate the hurdles involved in getting the desired result and they did just that with great efficiency,” said Juniper Landscaping Founder, Mike Duke. Brandon Duke, President of Juniper expressed, "I could not be happier with the outcome of our transaction and the partners we selected in ZS Fund. With a proven track record of success and the expertise necessary to help Juniper continue to grow, Juniper’s future is very bright and we are excited to have a partner as enthusiastic about our business as we are."

“It was a pleasure working with Mike and Brandon Duke and the rest of the Juniper Landscaping team,” commented Ted Bender, Managing Director at Croft & Bender. “We were particularly pleased to be able to structure a transaction that both provided full market value to the founder and allowed other shareholders to increase their ownership substantially post-deal.”