Engineering Services Acquisitions in Georgia

Arlington Capital Partners has acquired Pond & Company, a full-service design and engineering firm that supports federal government and private clients across energy, infrastructure and life sciences. The deal is Arlington's first platform investment from its oversubscribed $6 billion Fund VII; Pond is headquartered in Peachtree Corners, Georgia and employs more than 850 professionals across 21 offices. DC Capital Partners, which held a majority stake since 2019, sold the business.

Osmose Utilities has acquired Centillion Solutions, Inc. to expand its telecom engineering and technical services capabilities. Centillion, an engineering and geospatial services provider for FTTx and Hybrid Fiber Coax networks with operations in the U.S., Europe, Australia and a design center in India, will enable Osmose to offer end-to-end fiber engineering, design, permitting and post-construction services at greater scale; Osmose is a PE-backed platform owned by EQT Infrastructure.

Agile Utility Partners has acquired GroundHawk, LLC, a subsurface utility inspection, locating and mapping specialist based in Athens, Georgia. The acquisition expands Agile's technical field service capabilities and strengthens its integrated service offering to utilities, asset owners and engineering firms.

Pape-Dawson, a national civil engineering and professional services firm, has acquired Georgia-based civil engineering and surveying firm Gaskins + LeCraw. The acquisition expands Pape-Dawson’s footprint in Georgia and Alabama by adding Gaskins + LeCraw’s ~176 employees across six offices and broad civil engineering, surveying, landscape architecture and planning capabilities.

DLR Group announced that Atlanta-based Collins Cooper Carusi Architects (CCCA) has joined the firm, expanding DLR Group's Southeast presence and establishing a permanent Atlanta operation. The 40 design professionals from CCCA will operate as DLR Group|Collins Cooper Carusi, strengthening DLR Group's higher education and on-campus student housing capabilities.

Stratus Team, a Pittsburgh-based integrated engineering, architecture, and consulting platform backed by Brightstar Capital Partners, has acquired Engineering Strategies, Inc. (ESI), a Marietta, Georgia firm specializing in water and wastewater engineering. The acquisition expands Stratus' water resources capabilities and strengthens its presence in the southeastern United States.

Pape-Dawson has acquired Atlanta-based Eberly & Associates, a land planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture firm founded in 1982. The acquisition expands Pape-Dawson’s presence and capabilities in Georgia, adding Eberly’s expertise in commercial project design to Pape-Dawson’s existing services and regional footprint.

SAM, a managed geospatial services provider based in Austin, Texas, has acquired S. Nelson & Associates, Inc., a Dallas, Georgia-based data-collection and surveying firm focused on electric transmission and distribution line engineering surveys. The acquisition expands SAM's footprint in the southeastern United States and enhances its geomatics, spatial data management, and infrastructure-mapping capabilities for utility clients.

DCCM, a national design, consulting and program & construction management provider and a portfolio company of White Wolf Capital Group, has acquired Peoples & Quigley, Inc., a Georgia-based civil engineering firm specializing in water resources and wastewater solutions. The acquisition expands DCCM's water resources capabilities and geographic presence in Georgia, enhancing its national expertise in sustainable water and wastewater engineering.

Winsted, the Eagan, Minnesota-based maker of control room consoles, has acquired Design Matters, a control room consulting and design firm. Design Matters will operate as a separate business unit under Winsted with Steve Whitley remaining president, enabling Winsted to expand consulting and design capabilities alongside its manufacturing of control room consoles and accessories.

Michael Baker International has acquired MLU Services, Inc., a national logistics and disaster response firm headquartered in Athens, Georgia. MLU will operate within Michael Baker’s Tidal Basin Group to expand the combined firm's disaster management, resiliency consulting and emergency response capabilities for government and private-sector clients nationwide.

Pape-Dawson Engineers, LLC has acquired Maxwell-Reddick, a Georgia-based civil engineering, surveying, and land planning firm, to expand Pape-Dawson’s geographic footprint and service offerings in the Southeast. Maxwell-Reddick is headquartered in Statesboro, Georgia with a second office in Atlanta; the acquisition is Pape-Dawson’s first in Georgia and follows its 2023 strategic partnership with Palm Beach Capital.

Denver-headquartered Galloway & Company, Inc. has acquired Atlanta-based Studio for Housing Design and its subsidiary Pucciano & Associates to expand Galloway's housing design capabilities and regional presence in the southeastern United States. The acquisition (effective Nov. 10, 2023) brings Studio for Housing Design's multifamily, military, student and HUD housing expertise into Galloway's multidisciplinary architecture and engineering platform; Studio staff will continue operating under the Galloway name.

SAM Companies, a leading provider of geospatial and inspection solutions headquartered in Austin, Texas, has acquired Wellston Associates Land Surveyors, a full-service geomatics firm based in Warner Robins, Georgia. The acquisition expands SAM's capabilities in boundary, topographic, stakeout and digital mapping services and strengthens its presence in Georgia and the broader Southeastern United States.

Bowman announced the acquisition of Fisher Engineering, Inc., a specialized fire protection and life safety engineering firm. The deal brings Fisher's ~24 professionals and multiple U.S. offices into Bowman, is expected to contribute approximately $5.0 million of annualized net service billing, and was financed with a combination of cash, seller notes, and equity.

Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management have made a significant investment in Enercon Services, Inc., partnering with management to support the company's growth and strategic plans. AE Industrial Partners sold its stake in Enercon as part of the transaction; terms were not disclosed.

Young's Communications (Y-COM), a Grain Management-backed infrastructure services platform, has acquired Georgia-based Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG). The add-on expands Y-COM's FTTH engineering and construction capabilities and geographic footprint — AEG has completed 130 FTTH projects, installed ~50,000 miles of fiber and passed ~2.6 million homes across 32 U.S. states and 11 countries.

DCCM, a Houston-based design and construction management services platform, has acquired Rochester & Associates, a civil engineering and land surveying firm based in the greater Atlanta (Gainesville), Georgia area. The purchase (an add-on to the DCCM platform backed by private investor White Wolf) expands DCCM's geographic footprint and service capabilities across the Southeast U.S.

urban-gro, Inc. (Nasdaq: UGRO) has agreed to acquire MJ12 Design Studio and its parent company 2WR+ Partners for $9.1 million in a mix of cash and UGRO stock plus up to $2.0 million of contingent consideration. The acquisition adds architecture and interior design capabilities to urban-gro's engineering and cultivation-systems integration services, creating a fully integrated architecture, engineering and cultivation systems integration offering for the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) market.

Prime Engineering, an Atlanta-based architecture, engineering and surveying firm, received a strategic (minority) investment from Godspeed Capital to support accelerated service and client expansion. Financial terms were not disclosed; Prime Engineering's President Thomas Gambino will remain in place as the company pursues growth across industrial, transportation and infrastructure markets.

SSOE Group acquired Atlanta-based architecture and design firm Stevens & Wilkinson along with its sister interior design studio IDEA | SPAN, expanding SSOE’s Southeast U.S. presence and design capabilities. The deal, finalized December 31, 2020, adds nearly 100 employees to SSOE and broadens its offerings across healthcare, education, judicial, and other commercial building markets.

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) has acquired Kennesaw, Georgia-based Contour Engineering, LLC, adding geotechnical, materials testing and environmental services to UES's family of companies. The deal is an add-on acquisition that expands UES's geographic footprint, client base and service capabilities and is part of UES's ongoing partnership with investor Palm Beach Capital.

SOCOTEC Group has acquired David Pattillo & Associates (DPA), an Atlanta-based dispute resolution and project risk management firm serving the U.S. construction market. Separately, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) will invest in SOCOTEC (Cobepa remains majority owner) to support the group's U.S. expansion.

Atlas Intermediate Holdings LLC (operating as Atlas Technical Consultants) has signed an agreement to acquire Long Engineering, Inc., a civil and transportation engineering and surveying firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The add-on deal expands Atlas' service capabilities (including subsurface utility engineering and construction engineering/inspection) and strengthens its footprint and client relationships across the Southeast; Atlas expects to close the transaction prior to year-end as it pursues a planned business combination with Boxwood Merger Corp.