As Matt Bell devotes himself to sake, he and Entegrity founder Chris Ladner have sold their stakes in the Little Rock solar contractor and energy efficiency company to longtime partner Nabholz Construction Corp. of Conway.
Bell first confirmed the sale to Whispers early this month but referred all questions to Michael Parker, Nabholz’s central region president. Parker said the deal closed on Aug. 31, but that the parties were keeping the terms and the value of the purchase confidential.
“We can tell you that Nabholz has been the majority owner in Entegrity, which was a partnership formed between Nabholz and Entegrity Consulting in 2013,” Parker wrote. “Entegrity Consulting was owned by Chris Ladner and Matt Bell. Nabholz has purchased their interest in Entegrity as well as Entegrity Consulting, combining all services, and will continue to operate as Entegrity.”
Ladner will be staying on as the company’s chief technical officer.
Entegrity Energy Partners emerged in 2013 from the merger of the Conway construction company and Viridian, a forerunner to Ladner and Bell’s Entegrity Consulting. Ladner founded Viridian in 2007.
For Origami’s Sake
Bell told Arkansas Business last month that he was selling his Entegrity stake to devote more time to a new sake brewery he has co-founded in Hot Springs, Origami Sake.
In December, his MFB Investments LLC paid $375,000 for 3 acres and a 22,000-SF building at 2360 E. Grand Ave. that will be Arkansas’ first sake brewery and one of fewer than two dozen in the country. Bell said that his full investment in Origami will top $3 million.
Parker, Ladner and Bell had all been based at Entegrity’s energy efficiency showcase at 1403 E. Sixth St., a headquarters remodeled from the historic 1959 Darragh Co. building. The former building supply company offices were transformed into the nation’s first LEED Zero Platinum-certified building in 2019.
At its dedication, Ladner gave Bell credit for inspiring a bigger vision for Entegrity. When he started the company, Ladner said, his grand plan was to have a boutique consulting business with five to eight employees. “Then this guy, Matt Bell, said we’re going bigger.”
