Ohio company obtains Comet branding giant
The longtime San Antonio company that’s made signs for brands like Whataburger and H-E-B has been acquired by a growing Ohio-based firm.
Comet Signs and its Texas facilities have been acquired by Stratus, which said it plans to use the acquisition to expand its footprint into the Southwest. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Stratus said it brings the company’s total employment to more than 1,100 across the U.S.
“Our teams immediately melded,” Stratus CEO Tim Eippert said in a statement. “Comet’s reputation is stellar, and they’ve been careful and purposeful about growth, including hiring practices and employee satisfaction and retention.”
Founded in San Antonio in 1958 by Arther S. Sitterle Jr., Comet also has operations in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Tyler.
It’s the company behind some of the state’s most iconic signs — most notably the lettering on Whataburger’s stores
and its big orange and white “W.”
The company has also worked with brands like Church’s Fried Chicken, Valero and H-E-B, according to its website. Most of its work is done out of its 180,000-square-foot production facility in San Antonio.
Since the 1990s, Comet has been under the leadership of Arthur S. “Pete” Sitterle III.
“When Tim and I were getting to know each other, I could immediately picture myself and my team working side-by-side with Stratus,” Sitterle said.
It is the Ohio company’s third major acquisition since 2019. Beyond Comet’s footprint, Stratus has operations in Illinois, Ohio, Florida and New Jersey, and production facilities in Illinois and South Carolina. It is owned by Vestar Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm.
Stratus clients include Chase, CVS, Mcdonalds, Public Storage, Quest Diagnostics, Raymond James, Starbucks and Walgreens.