BrightView Hits Refresh: New CEO And Half A Billion Dollar Investment To Slash Debt And Fuel Acquisitions

BrightView Holdings Inc BV disclosed the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appointment and attained a $500 million strategic investment.

The company appointed Dale A. Asplund as the President and Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, 2023. The company also appointed Asplund to the Board of directors.

Most recently, Asplund served as United Rentals, Inc. URI Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, a position he was appointed to in 2019.

In May, the company's former President and CEO, Andrew Masterman, stepped down from his role, and the company appointed Jim Abrahamson as the interim President and CEO. 

Apart from this, BV disclosed getting a $500 million strategic investment in the form of convertible preferred stock from an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC.

The preferred share will be convertible into shares of BV common stock at a conversion rate of $9.44 per share following receipt of HSR approval and other requirements.

The preferred stock has a 7% annual dividend, compounded quarterly, payable in cash or kind at BV's option.

The company expects to use 90% of the proceeds from the investment to reduce debt to achieve 3.1x net debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA. 

BV aims to use the remaining funds and its higher free cash flow to pursue value-accretive acquisitions. 

In connection with this transaction, Kurtis Barker and Joshua Goldman have been appointed as new directors to BrightView's Board. Upon their appointment and that of Asplund, the Board will be comprised of 10 directors.

Earlier this month, BrightView reported Q3 FY23 revenue of $766 million, missing the consensus of $777.4 million, and adjusted EPS of $0.44 beat the consensus of $0.38.

At the end of Q3 FY23, BV had an FCF of $38.2 million. 

Price Action: BV shares closed lower by 0.85% at $8.15 on Friday.