The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that GDI Integrated Facility Services, a conglomerate that offers janitorial services and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) repairs, is being taken private by its chief executive officer and Birch Hill Equity Partners for $862-million. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that based in Montreal, GDI's shares have endured a multiyear downturn. GDI's stock soared early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the company has struggled to deliver organic growth, particularly in the United States. With GDI's shares down 50 per cent from their 2021 peak, CEO Claude Bigras and Birch Hill, which specializes in mid-market buyouts, are taking the company private again for $36.60 per share in cash. The purchase price is a 25-per-cent premium to GDI's market price before the transaction was announced. Mr. Bigras will remain CEO and GDI's leadership will also stay in its current form. However, they will operate in a different environment. In a private company, management does not have to publicly report quarterly earnings, so every swing will not be scrutinized by public shareholders. In 2024, GDI lost one of its major U.S. clients and filling this hole will take some time.