HOUSTON, Texas — The Sterling Group, a Houston-based middle market private equity firm, today announced an investment in Bad Boy, Inc. ("Bad Boy").

Headquartered in Batesville, Arkansas, Bad Boy is a leading manufacturer of high-performance zero-turn riding lawn mowers. Since its founding in 1998, Bad Boy has operated as a founder-owned business. Bad Boy enjoys a leading brand in the lawn care industry with its lineup of commercial-quality residential mowers and professional grade commercial mowers. Bad Boy sells its mowers across an expanding base of independent dealers and leading outdoor retailers.

"Phil and his team have built an incredible product and strong brand resulting in impressive growth over the last twenty years. We look forward to partnering with Phil and his team in supporting Bad Boy's future growth as it continues to deliver leading residential and commercial mowers to its loyal customer base," said Kent Wallace, a Partner at The Sterling Group.

"I am excited to partner with The Sterling Group, as we work together to drive Bad Boy's continued growth," said Phil Pulley, founder of Bad Boy.

Sterling has a long history of partnering with family and entrepreneur owners and their management teams to support the growth of their businesses.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor to The Sterling Group. Stephens Inc. acted as financial advisor and Jones Day acted as legal advisor to Bad Boy, Inc.