Building Industry Partners Portfolio Company, U.S. Fence Solutions, Completes Sale of Ideal Fencing Corp. to Soil Nail Holdings

The Transaction completes six years of Ideal’s growth and value creation under U.S. Fence ownership

ERIE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Fence Solutions Company, LLC (“U.S. Fence”), a portfolio company of building industry-focused investment firm, Building Industry Partners LLC (“BIP”), has sold Ideal Fencing Corp. (“Ideal” or the “Company”) to Soil Nail Holdings (“SNH”). SNH is an investment platform focused on leading commercial contractors throughout North America, and is an affiliate of KKR, a private equity firm headquartered in New York.

Founded in 1982 and based in Erie, CO, Ideal was acquired by U.S. Fence in 2017 in partnership with Ideal’s longstanding President Jim Bockelmann and its management team. Ideal has grown to become the largest highway and bridge guardrail fabricator and installer in Colorado. Ideal also fabricates and installs commercial chain-link and iron fencing, serving Colorado’s Front Range and beyond. Ideal has a long history of completing projects where guardrail, fencing, access control, design, value- engineering, and in-house fabrication capabilities are all required to deliver quality solution safely and on schedule, which has made it a preferred partner to a long-standing customer base of highway/transit authorities, state and local government agencies, infrastructure contractors, and commercial/industrial contractors and developers.

Ideal President, Matt Bockelmann, said “We’re very proud of the business we’ve built at Ideal Fencing over many decades and we’re excited for the next chapter in partnership with SNH. Our team of over 50 employees is more committed than ever to serving our customers across Colorado for decades to come. We’d like to thank BIP and its principals for the successful partnership with Ideal since 2017.”

Zach Coopersmith, Strategic Advisor at Building Industry Partners and Board Chairman at U.S. Fence, said: “We’re grateful for the consistent and tireless work from Ideal’s management team and employees over the past six years under BIP’s ownership, including navigating a difficult operating environment through Covid and ultimately reaching new heights for the business. We’re proud to have partnered with Matt Bockelmann, Dave Elger, and the team along the way, as Ideal grew its service offerings, expanded its team, and helped develop some of the most important infrastructure projects in the state of Colorado.”

Matt Ogden, Founder and Managing Partner at Building Industry Partners said, “Ideal was an exceptional investment for BIP, built upon the foundational principle of partnering with great people. The Bockelmann family and Ideal’s team are first-rate people and business partners, and absolute masters of their craft. The combined capabilities and trusting relationship of BIP’s and Ideal’s teams led to tremendous mutual success here.”

Following the successful sale of Binford Supply in 2021, and now Ideal Fencing, U.S. Fence will focus on growing its residential and commercial fencing installation business at Split Rail Fence in the Front Range of Colorado. U.S. Fence was formed by BIP in 2016.

FMI Capital Advisors and Holland & Knight served U.S. Fence as financial advisor and legal counsel, respectively, as part of this transaction.

Background of Building Industry Partners

Building Industry Partners (“BIP”) is the leading private equity investment firm focused on the U.S. building industry. Founded by Matt Ogden in 2008, BIP is headquartered in Boston, with investment professionals, operating partners, and advisors across the U.S.

Over the past 14 years, BIP is proud to have co-founded or been first equity sponsor of a number of the fastest growing and most dynamic businesses in the U.S. building industry’s middle market, including U.S. LBM Holdings, Kodiak Building Partners, Homewood Holdings, and U.S. Fence Solutions/Binford Supply.

In 2020, BIP redefined its purpose: to build exceptional and enduring businesses, generate world class investment returns, and contribute to elevating the building industry and its workforce through people-focused investment & business principles. BIP continues to seek opportunities to sponsor the building industry’s greatest talent in building exceptional businesses, realizing their entrepreneurial visions, and increasing shared prosperity amongst shareholders, management, and the broader workforce.