AMERICAN SECURITIES RISK ASSESSMENT

The report identifies significant vulnerabilities in American Securities' investment strategy, citing multiple bankruptcies and distressed exits such as Air Methods and Longview Power. It highlights 'headline risk' and legal challenges facing portfolio companies like ViaPath (prison telecommunications) and Amentum (defense contracting), including allegations of predatory pricing and human trafficking. Additionally, the document details regulatory risks, such as a $13 million antitrust settlement for General Chemical and multiple deceptive practice settlements for Aspen Dental. Finally, it notes ESG risks in healthcare and education, where companies like North American Partners in Anesthesia and FullBloom have faced lawsuits and investigations over understaffing and failure to provide credentialed teachers.

• American Securities has experienced several distressed exits and bankruptcies in recent years, including Air Methods, which filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 after the No Surprises Act reduced revenues by more than 50 percent, and Longview Power, which filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and again in 2020.
• Portfolio companies ViaPath and Amentum face significant headline risks; ViaPath is scrutinized for predatory prison communication rates and illegal recording of attorney-client calls, while Amentum has been linked to allegations of human trafficking and forced labor of migrant workers at military bases in the Persian Gulf.
• The firm faces substantial regulatory and legal risks, including a $13 million settlement in 2019 for price fixing at General Chemical and two settlements with the state of Massachusetts totaling $4.5 million for deceptive advertising and billing practices at Aspen Dental.
• The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act grants the FCC authority to regulate prison communication costs, which is expected to reduce revenues for market leaders like ViaPath and potentially reverse sector consolidation.
• Moody's assigned a Credit Impact Score (CIS) of 4 to all reviewed American Securities companies as of June 2024, indicating that ESG considerations have a discernible negative impact on their credit ratings.
• Investments in public services have led to operational and legal failures, such as North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA) facing lawsuits over understaffing and non-compete agreements, and FullBloom's SESI division being found to have 'grossly underserved' students by failing to provide credentialed teachers.

APA

Creeks, A. (2024). AMERICAN SECURITIES RISK ASSESSMENT. Private Equity Stakeholder Project. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PESP_Report_AmericanSecurities_2024-compressed.pdf

Chicago

Creeks, Azani. AMERICAN SECURITIES RISK ASSESSMENT. Private Equity Stakeholder Project, 2024. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PESP_Report_AmericanSecurities_2024-compressed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Creeks |first1=Azani |title=AMERICAN SECURITIES RISK ASSESSMENT |publisher=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |date=July 2024 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PESP_Report_AmericanSecurities_2024-compressed.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{creeks2024american, author = {Creeks, Azani}, title = {{AMERICAN SECURITIES RISK ASSESSMENT}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PESP_Report_AmericanSecurities_2024-compressed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }