Bunnell, Florida-based Austin Outdoor (www.austinoutdoor.net) today announced that it has become part of the Yellowstone Landscape Group, one of the largest full service and environmentally focused landscape providers in the United States. Austin Outdoor's leadership will retain significant ownership in Yellowstone and will lead the Company's expansion in Florida and the Bahamas.

Edward Schatz, Jr., founder of Austin Outdoor, said, “Our focus on creating premier properties, building lasting relationships is closely aligned with Yellowstone's vision of building a world class landscape organization dedicated to customer experience, return on investment and environmental stewardship.” William Dellecker, Executive Vice President and head of operations, added, “We've built a team of landscape specialists whose common goal is to continually deliver the most knowledgeable and professional service to every customer and project. Joining Yellowstone will enable us to provide our customers with additional professional expertise, enhanced sustainable services and the ability to expand into larger geographic markets.”

Austin Outdoor is an award winning market leader in Florida and the Bahamas, and has risen to prominence by building a reputation based on quality, innovative design, reliability, value-added solutions and the ability to handle large and complex projects. The company provides comprehensive landscape services to the commercial, resort and hospitality, municipal, multi-family and master planned community markets. As a Yellowstone Landscape Group Company, Austin Outdoor will continue working in partnership with general contractors, developers, owners, property managers, architects, and real estate professionals to enhance the value of their landscape investments.

Yellowstone's CEO, John Miller, stated, “Our joint vision of building a world-class landscape organization by providing our customers with the best team, most efficient operational processes and environmentally intelligent services makes the Austin Outdoor and Yellowstone merger a natural fit. In addition to making Yellowstone one of the nation's largest full-service landscape companies, the merger of Austin with Yellowstone provides additional management depth, a diverse customer base, new service capabilities and sophisticated IT systems. We believe that by joining forces with Austin Outdoor we've created the strongest value proposition for our stakeholders.”

About Yellowstone Landscape Group:

Founded by Gridiron Capital, LLC, a private equity firm based in New Canaan, Connecticut, the Yellowstone Landscape Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a national leader with a team of dedicated professionals with years of experience in all service lines of landscape architecture, installation, maintenance and construction. Yellowstone serves the growing demands of the commercial, municipal, resort, multi-family, HOA and sports markets by offering a portfolio of green and sustainable services with an emphasis on protecting, enhancing and increasing property values. In addition to Austin Outdoor, the Yellowstone Landscape Group presently includes Atlanta-based Piedmont Landscape and Houston-based Bio Landscape and Maintenance. Yellowstone serves customers in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and the Bahamas with plans for geographic expansion. Visit www.yellowstonelandscape.com and www.gridironcapital.com for more information.