Ronin Equity Partners, a New York City-based investment firm, has acquired two North American manufacturers of propane (R290)-based commercial refrigeration display equipment, QBD and Minus Forty, both located in Canada’s Greater Toronto area. 

According to Ronin, the combined company will be the number-two player by sales in the North American refrigerated display market.

The brands will continue to be marketed under their own names, but the merged group will be “a platform for consolidation in the fragmented refrigerated display case industry,” where 60% of the market is divided between over one hundred family-owned businesses, said Ronin in a statement. Targets include “multiple acquisitions” in the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

QBD is a manufacturer of R290-based beverage coolers and refrigerated displays. In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), through its efficiency-promoting Energy Star program, selected QBD as one of 206 organizations receiving 2021 Partner of the Year awards. The company was cited for “improving refrigeration equipment energy efficiency through integrated design, including an R290 compressor, specially programmed controllers, motors, LED lighting, and reduced charge amounts up to 90.5%.”