Antares Capital is serving as administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner on a senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of Franklin Energy (“Franklin”) by Kohlberg & Company, LLC (“Kohlberg”).

Headquartered in Port Washington, WI, Franklin is a leading designer and implementer of energy efficiency programs for utility, state and municipality clients nationwide and in Canada. Franklin will be merged with AM Conservation Group, a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, LLC. AM Conservation Group is a Charleston, SC-based full service provider of energy and water conservation products and EE program implementation services. In addition to expanding each company’s energy efficiency program administration capabilities, the combination further serves to bolster their education program and demand response services.

“The Franklin transaction is an important addition to our platform in the EE sector” said Benjamin Mao, partner at Kohlberg. “We were confident in Antares’ ability to underwrite and deliver a timely, competitive financing solution. Their understanding of the EE sector and our investment thesis were important factors in the financing decision.”

“We are pleased to support Kohlberg as they strengthen their commitment to the energy conservation industry,” said Chet Zara, senior managing director of Antares. “The combined company is well positioned to leverage the individual strengths of both Franklin and AMCG, and to support increasing energy demands by delivering cost effective energy efficiency programs to its customers.”

Kohlberg & Company is a leading private equity firm headquartered in Mount Kisco, New York. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized seven private equity funds, through which it has raised over $5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 29-year history, Kohlberg has completed 69 platform investments and approximately 150 add-on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $10 billion.

Antares Capital is a leading provider of financing solutions for middle-market, private equity-backed transactions with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Norwalk (Connecticut) and Toronto. Antares has facilitated more than $120 billion in financing over the past five years. Antares was named 2015 Dealmakers of the Year and 2014 Lender of the Year by Mergers & Acquisitions.