RICHMOND, Va. -- Armed with its newly acquired private equity backing, Virginia Green has made its first move outside of its home state.

The 20-year-old Richmond-based lawncare company last week acquired L.S.L. Lawn Service in Maryland.

It marks the 10th acquisition for Virginia Green in three years and the first time the company will have operations outside of the commonwealth.

It’s also the company’s first acquisition funded by the war chest it received late last year in a deal with California-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital .

As part of the deal, Virginia Green founder Gil Grattan sold a stake of the business to Golden Gate in exchange for an undisclosed amount of growth capital, intended to fuel continued acquisitions.

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