NEW YORK — March 10, 2025 (PRNEWSWIRE) — Meritus Gas Partners (“Meritus”) announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Oxygen Service Company (“OSC”), a leading independent distributor of packaged gases and welding supplies headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1959, OSC is a 100% employee-owned company serving the US Midwest through multiple locations in Minnesota (six) and Wisconsin (three). Its comprehensive product and service offerings include industrial, specialty, and medical gases; automation equipment and integration services; and a vast array of welding and safety supplies. The company is well regarded for its commitment to quality and customer service, and its broad customer base represents various industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, and construction.
“OSC has earned a reputation as one of the premier welding and gas distributors not just in the Midwest, but in the entire US,” said Ryan Diekow, OSC’s President & CEO. “Our success is directly attributable to the efforts of our dedicated employee owners and a deeply committed senior management team.”
“We chose to partner with Meritus because we believe its model is compatible with OSC’s priorities,” Diekow added. “When we contemplated OSC’s future, it was important to us to protect the integrity of the business we have built over the past 65 years. Meritus’ model allows its partner companies to continue to operate independently and maintain their legacy brands. Meritus also encourages co-investment and employee ownership. Partnering with Meritus will allow OSC to operate as it has historically while our employees can remain owners of the business.”
Meritus Chairman Scott Kaltrider echoed Diekow’s sentiments, stating, “OSC is the epitome of a Meritus platform company, and we are excited to welcome its team into the Meritus family. OSC has a well-earned reputation for customer service and quality and a demonstrated record of strong organic growth, the products of a well-articulated, multi-faceted vision and strategic plan ingrained throughout the organization by a sophisticated leadership team. OSC’s continued success is also derived from its existing ESOP structure, which dovetails with Meritus’ commitment to deep employee ownership. We look forward to supporting Ryan, his senior team, and their employees.”
OSC will expand Meritus’ geographic footprint into Minnesota and Wisconsin and provide the foundation for further expansion in the US Midwest region.
“Minnesota and Wisconsin are diverse markets with concentrated manufacturing and strong economic outlooks,” added Kaltrider. “OSC has historically invested in its infrastructure, including its gas production and distribution capabilities. We believe OSC is poised to continue its exciting growth trajectory, including through tuck in acquisitions in the areas it serves.”
“We are excited to be a part of the national network of Meritus companies,” concluded Diekow. “While our business is thriving and growing, as a member of Meritus, we will be a part of a larger, more diverse organization. We look forward to leveraging Meritus’ resources and expertise to accelerate our growth while sharing our best practices with our partners.”
About Meritus Gas Partners
Founded in December 2020, Meritus is a portfolio company of AEA Investors Small Business Private Equity. Meritus is assembling a national network of high-quality independent distributors of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and welding and safety supplies, located in diverse geographies and serving growing end-markets. Meritus will partner with exceptional businesses and management teams, allow them to remain independent and entrepreneurial, and support them to accelerate growth, improve business quality, and enhance value. Owners are invited to invest meaningful equity into the Meritus holding company to allow them to share in the success of the overall platform. Visit us online at www.MeritusGas.com.
About AEA Investors
AEA Investors was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon, and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. AEA has an extraordinary global network built over many years which includes leading industrial families, business executives, and leaders, many of whom invest with AEA as active individual investors, join its portfolio company boards, or act in other advisory roles. Today, AEA’s over 120 investment professionals operate globally with offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich, and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have approximately $19 billion of invested and committed capital including the leveraged buyouts of middle market and small business companies, growth capital, and private debt investments. AEA Small Business Private Equity (“AEA SBPE”) is a strategy within AEA that currently manages $3.5 billion of invested and committed capital. The team seeks to help grow and transform companies at the lower end of the middle market by sponsoring growing companies with proven management teams and superior business models. For more information, visit www.aeainvestors.com.
Contacts:
AEA Investors
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Kate Thompson / Erik Carlson
+1 (212) 355-4449
[email protected]
