Middle market private equity and credit investor

Littlejohn & Co.

At a glance

Assets under management$8B (as of Sep 2024) S1
EBITDA range$15M to $125M S3
Check size$75M to $500M S3
Deal typesPlatform, Add-on, Minority S3
GeographyNorth America S2
SectorsEnvironmental & Waste, Industrial & Manufacturing, Construction Services, Accounting & Professional Services, HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical, Transportation & Logistics, Consumer & Food

What Littlejohn & Co. buys

Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut investor, founded in 1996, that runs private equity and credit side by side and sticks to North American industrial and services companies. It reported about $8 billion of regulatory assets under management as of September 2024. Its private equity strategy takes control of businesses earning $15 million to $125 million of EBITDA, with equity checks of $75 million to $500 million, and it likes corporate carve-outs and markets where a platform can keep buying. A separate capital solutions strategy offers preferred equity, convertible debt and junior capital of up to $200 million to companies with $15 million to $200 million of EBITDA.

Those limits put Littlejohn well above the lower middle market for new platforms. A smaller owner is far more likely to meet it through one of its portfolio companies. Since 2025, Interstate Waste Services has bought local, mostly family-owned haulers in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York City, and Ardurra has added regional engineering firms from Florida to Washington state.

Recent deals

Announced in the 24 months before October 20, 2026.

DateCompanyTypeSectorSource
Jun 2026Kelly EngineersPhiladelphia-area municipal engineering and surveying firm added to ArdurraAdd-onAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
Jun 2026Milrose ConsultantsNew York building permitting, code and inspection consultancy bought from Southfield Capital; the CEO stays in chargePlatformAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
May 2026Valcourt GroupBuilding exterior maintenance platform moved into a continuation vehicle led by Carlyle AlpInvest, with Littlejohn reinvestingInvestmentConstruction ServicesSource
Mar 2026GDS AssociatesUtility power planning and engineering consultancy in Georgia; existing management stays and add-ons are plannedPlatformAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
Mar 2026Remington & Vernick EngineersNortheast water and municipal engineering firm added to ArdurraAdd-onAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
Feb 202680/20Indiana maker of modular aluminum framing for automation, bought from MPE PartnersPlatformIndustrial & ManufacturingSource
Jan 2026HillerAgreed sale of the fire and life safety services company after more than twenty add-ons; buyer not namedExitConstruction ServicesSource
Dec 2025Filco CartingFourth-generation family-owned New York City hauler added to Interstate Waste ServicesAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
Nov 2025MKN & AssociatesCalifornia water and wastewater engineering firm added to ArdurraAdd-onAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
Nov 2025Grand Sanitation ServiceIndependent North and Central New Jersey hauler added to Interstate Waste ServicesAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
Sep 2025North Atlantic Waste & RecyclingFamily-owned Connecticut hauler, formerly Country Disposal, added to Interstate Waste ServicesAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
Sep 2025PlayPowerAgreed sale of the playground and recreation equipment maker to Platinum EquityExitIndustrial & ManufacturingSource
Sep 2025PerteetWashington state transportation engineering firm added to ArdurraAdd-onAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
Sep 2025J.R. Wauford & CompanyNashville water and wastewater engineering firm added to ArdurraAdd-onAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
Aug 2025PatientPointAgreed sale of the doctor's office patient engagement network to Advent International, alongside L CattertonExitSource
Jun 2025Janus ResearchFlorida cultural resource management firm added to ArdurraAdd-onAccounting & Professional ServicesSource
May 2025RailProsTexas provider of rail engineering, safety and construction management services, bought from Court Square Capital PartnersPlatformSource
Mar 2025Pinto ServiceFamily-owned northern New Jersey hauler added to Interstate Waste Services; the family leads the local operationAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
Nov 2024Sunbelt ModularModular building designer and manufacturer; the CEO stays onPlatformIndustrial & ManufacturingSource

Portfolio by sector

From the firm's portfolio page S6.

Industrials, Services: Building Products, Home Improvement

  • Great Day Improvements Current

Industrials, Services: HVAC

  • United Comfort Group Current

Industrials, Services: Transportation Infrastructure

  • RailPros Current

Industrials: Building Products, Security

  • Cook & Boardman Group Current

Industrials: Construction & Commercial

  • Sunbelt Modular Current

Industrials: Consumer

  • Saatva Current

Industrials: Food, Consumer & Retail

  • Lipari Foods Current

Industrials: Hospitality & Consumer

  • Brown Jordan Current

Industrials: Industrial Automation

  • 80/20 Current

Services: Building & Infrastructure Services; Engineering & Consulting

  • Milrose Current

Services: Chemical & Energy

  • Total Safety Current

Services: Commercial

  • Pritchard Industries Current
  • Valcourt Group Current

Services: Engineering & Consulting

  • GDS Associates Current

Services: Environmental

  • Interstate Waste Services Current

Services: Healthcare

  • American Health Staffing Group (AHSG) Current

Services: Site Solutions

  • Stallion Infrastructure Services Current

Services: Transportation & Logistics

  • Imperative Logistics Group Current

Services: Water and Transportation Infrastructure

  • Ardurra Current

Greymont’s take

How Littlejohn & Co. fits a seller

Littlejohn suits owners of sizable industrial, engineering, building services or waste businesses who want a buyer with deep pockets for acquisitions. Few founder-owned companies are big enough to become a new Littlejohn platform, so most owners would be selling to a company it already controls. Interstate Waste Services has bought four local haulers since March 2025, three of them family-owned, and Ardurra has added six engineering firms in the same period.

In Littlejohn's own platform deals, the sitting leader usually keeps running the company, as at Milrose and GDS Associates. The firm can also hold for a long time: rather than selling Valcourt outright in 2026, it moved the company into a continuation vehicle and put in fresh money. An owner should ask whether the buyer is Littlejohn itself or one of its platforms, and how much of the price would be paid in rolled equity in that platform.

Questions owners ask

Does Littlejohn buy waste and environmental services companies?

Yes, through Interstate Waste Services, a current holding since 2020 that collects, recycles and disposes of waste around New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut. IWS bought Pinto Service in March 2025, North Atlantic Waste & Recycling in September 2025, Grand Sanitation in November 2025 and Filco Carting in December 2025.

Is my company too small for Littlejohn?

For a new platform, probably. Its private equity criteria call for $15 million to $125 million of EBITDA and equity checks of at least $75 million. Smaller firms more often join one of its platforms as an add-on, such as the engineering practices Ardurra has bought since 2025.

Does Littlejohn offer anything other than a full buyout?

Yes. Its capital solutions strategy, started in 2018, provides preferred equity, convertible debt and junior capital with equity upside of up to $200 million for companies with $15 million to $200 million of EBITDA. Great Day Improvements and Saatva are current holdings from that strategy.

Does the management team stay after Littlejohn invests?

In its recent platform deals, yes. Milrose's chief executive kept leading the company after the June 2026 purchase, and GDS Associates stayed under its president and existing team after the March 2026 partnership.

Sources

  1. S1Littlejohn & Co. home page (regulatory AUM as of September 30, 2024) Accessed October 20, 2026
  2. S2Littlejohn & Co.: About Us Accessed October 20, 2026
  3. S3Littlejohn & Co.: Private Equity strategy and target criteria Accessed October 20, 2026
  4. S4Littlejohn & Co.: Capital Solutions strategy and target criteria Accessed October 20, 2026
  5. S5Littlejohn & Co.: Strategies and core sectors Accessed October 20, 2026
  6. S6Littlejohn & Co.: Investments Accessed October 20, 2026
  7. S7Littlejohn & Co.: News Accessed October 20, 2026
  8. S8Littlejohn & Co.: Interstate Waste Services (investment year 2020) Accessed October 20, 2026
  9. S9Littlejohn & Co. Closes Continuation Vehicle Anchored by Valcourt Group (May 27, 2026) Accessed October 20, 2026
  10. S10Ardurra: News and Insights Accessed October 20, 2026

Compiled by Greymont Advisors from public sources, including the firm’s own website and press releases. Greymont is not affiliated with Littlejohn & Co.. Figures are as reported on the dates shown and may have changed. Request a correction

For business owners

Thinking about selling? Talk to Greymont.

We work for the buyers, so owners never pay us a fee or a share of proceeds. Find out how ready your business is in four minutes, or start a confidential conversation.

Take the Readiness Scorecard Start a Conversation