Private equity deals in Pro AV usually trigger the same worry. Buyers brace for cost cuts, thinner support, and a quick resale. Dan Smith, executive vice president of Almo Pro AV, argues this Nexora One Equity Partners deal points the other way.
On Oct. 9, DCC Energy agreed to sell Nexora, Almo’s parent company, to One Equity Partners (OEP). The deal values Nexora at $725 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis. DCC Energy expects the sale to close on or after March 1, 2027, pending regulatory approvals.
“It’s still the same plan,” Smith told AVNation. “It’s just accelerated.”
For IT directors and AV managers, the question is practical. Almo sits between manufacturers and the integrators who quote your projects. Will the new owner change how that distributor prices, stocks, and supports your work? According to Smith, the answer is mostly no. However, the speed of change inside Almo is about to pick up.
Why One Equity Partners
The sale traces back to a strategic decision at the top. DCC chose to focus on energy and divest its other divisions. Meanwhile, KKR and Energy Capital Partners are taking DCC Energy private. As a result, Nexora needed a new home.
Smith said Almo went looking for its next investment partner. Early on, the conversations with OEP showed alignment on culture, strategy, and business. Eventually, OEP also became the highest bidder. “They understood and liked what we are and where we’re headed,” Smith said.
OEP describes itself as a middle-market firm focused on industrial, healthcare, and technology businesses. It invests in North America and Europe, the same regions Nexora serves. Smith called OEP a non-managing partner. In other words, the firm does not plan to run Almo day to day.
Smith pointed to OEP’s track record as his main evidence. He said the firm holds 131 companies and has completed 438 add-on acquisitions. That works out to roughly three add-ons for every company it buys. “Their mind state is growth,” Smith said. “It is not value engineering or removing costs.”
Yes, acquisitions are coming
I asked Smith directly whether buyers should expect acquisitions. “Yes,” he said. “Absolutely.”
Still, he declined to name targets. Naming them, he explained, would only invite competition. Additionally, OEP cannot direct any action until the deal closes. Smith also noted why the announcement came early. DCC Energy trades publicly, so the company had to disclose the agreement.
Most private equity firms buy with an exit in mind. Smith did not dispute that point. Instead, he framed the exit around scale rather than cuts. “This isn’t a turnaround acquisition,” he said. “This is an acceleration acquisition.”
Smith described Almo as financially strong, with an excellent credit rating among its manufacturers. Therefore, he sees the plan as simple. OEP wants to take what already works and apply it across a larger company.
What changes for buyers
The first visible change will arrive online. Almo is relaunching its website for resellers, and Smith did not defend the current version. “Our website’s not very good today,” he said. “It’s pretty poor.”
The new site targets the transactional work that eats time without adding value. That list includes product comparison, pricing, bills of materials, shipping, credit, and tracking. Most importantly, it includes bid registration.
Bid registration matters more than most end users realize. Integrators register a specific project with a manufacturer to unlock project pricing. In practice, most of your projects carry custom pricing. Consequently, faster registration could shorten the wait between a quote request and a firm number.
Smith also argued that Almo’s market share growth benefits buyers directly. More share means deeper inventory and more brands from one source. On top of that, Almo employs brand-specific product specialists and an AV services team. That team handles design, programming, digital signal processing (DSP) configuration, and AutoCAD room drawings.
For multinational organizations, Smith offered a more measured promise. Nexora’s footprint makes products easier to source across regions. However, it cannot erase regional differences in tariffs, taxes, and local manufacturing costs. Standardizing globally still means managing those price gaps.
The technology Smith is watching
Smith spent as much time on technology as on finance. He sees products multiplying and new applications emerging at the same time. As a result, picking the right product for a given room keeps getting harder.
E-paper tops his watch list. Earlier versions were too small, lacked color, and cost too much. According to Smith, manufacturers are solving all three problems now. “E-paper will be a material part of our future within five years,” he said.
However, Smith does not expect e-paper to replace LCD or LED displays. Instead, he sees it replacing printed paper and static signs. The appeal is practical. E-paper weighs almost nothing, draws little power, and needs no backlight during the day.
The question nobody asked
At the end of our conversation, I asked Smith what question nobody had raised yet. His answer was simple. Everyone asks what will change, he said, but nobody asks what stays the same.
“We still have the same leadership team,” Smith said. “We still have the same organization.”
That is the right frame for end users, at least until March. Nothing changes before the deal closes. After that, watch three signals. First, does the new website actually speed up bid registration? Second, which acquisitions arrive, and do they add brands you buy? Third, does support depth hold as OEP pushes for growth? Those answers will tell you whether “acceleration” reaches your conference rooms or stays on a slide deck.
Tim Albright is the founder of AVNation and is the driving force behind the AVNation network. He carries the InfoComm CTS, a B.S. from Greenville College and is pursuing an M.S. in Mass Communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. When not steering the AVNation ship, Tim has spent his career designing systems for churches both large and small, Fortune 500 companies, and education facilities.
- Tim Albright
- Tim Albright
- Tim Albright
- Tim Albright
