G&A Partners sells minority stake as co-founder steps down
G&A Partners, the Houston-based professional employer organization and human resources outsourcing provider, said last week it had sold a minority stake to the Riverside Co., a private equity firm.
G&A, founded 25 years ago by Tony Grijalva and John Allen, reported 2019 revenue of $2.9 billion, up $500 million from the previous year, to make it the fifth-largest private company based in Houston. Terms of the deal with Riverside were not disclosed.
In announcing the sale of the interest, G&A also said Chairman and CEO Grijalva would be retiring on Oct. 1. Allen, the company’s president and chief operating officer, will become chief executive. Grijalva will remain on the company’s board and will continue to serve as an adviser to the company.
Carnelian affiliate makes IPO debut
Peridot Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company sponsored by an affiliate of Houstonbased Carnelian Energy Capital Management, announced the closing of its initial public offering of 30 million units. Gross proceeds from the offering were $300 million.
Peridot is targeting companies that focus on environmentally sound infrastructure, industrial applications and disruptive technologies that eliminate or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and/or enhance resilience to climate change.
Ion gets cash grant, community input
Rice Management Co. and the City of Houston last week hosted the first of three online community workshops to discuss their vision and solicit feedback for the Innovation District, 16 acres in Midtown to be anchored by the Ion, a redevelopment of the former Sears building on Main Street, into an office, coworking, educational and events space.
The Ion, scheduled to open next year, is the first major component of the district, which Rice and city officials said would be the epicenter of an innovation ecosystem where entrepreneurs, corporations and academics will create and collaborate in a vibrant neighborhood to be developed around it.
Ion last week also announced a $1.5 million federal grant to help fund its startup accelerator program. The grant is part of the Economic Development Administration’s Build to Scale program, which is funding 52 organizations with a total of $35 million.
The Ion will use its grant to fund the Accelerator Hub, which includes three startup development organizations: The Ion Smart and Resilient Cities Accelerator, The Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator and the DivInc Accelerator, which supports women- and minority-owned startups.