Engineering Services Acquisitions in New York

GHK Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, has acquired CPL, an architecture, engineering, and planning firm headquartered in Rochester, New York. The partnership will support CPL's accelerated growth strategy — including geographic and end-market expansion, strategic technology investments, and an active M&A program — while financial terms were not disclosed.

Milrose Consultants, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, has acquired Surface Design Group. Monroe Capital provided a senior credit facility to support the acquisition; the deal expands Milrose's architecture and engineering consulting capabilities—particularly façade and building envelope services—through the addition of Surface Design, which is headquartered in New York, NY.

Trinity Consultants has acquired Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B), a New York–based provider of mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) and fire protection engineering services. JB&B will operate within Trinity's Built Environment division, with Walter Mehl, Jr. named Divisional President, as Trinity expands its MEP capabilities to deliver more integrated engineering solutions across commercial, healthcare, life sciences, aviation and data center markets.

Salas O'Brien has merged with M/E Engineering to expand its mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), fire protection and sustainable design capabilities across upstate New York. The deal brings M/E Engineering’s team and local offices in Rochester, Buffalo, Schenectady and Syracuse into Salas O'Brien while preserving the M/E leadership and local operations.

Cumming Group has merged with World Wide Professional Solutions (WWPS), combining WWPS' ~230 professionals with Cumming's global project and cost-management capabilities to form the largest pure‑play service provider in the U.S. semiconductor construction market. The deal expands Cumming's expertise in semiconductor and advanced manufacturing facility program, project, construction, and equipment installation services and strengthens its position amid rising onshoring and capital investment in U.S. chip manufacturing.

Phenna Group, a UK-based testing, inspection, certification and compliance (TICC) platform, has acquired Atlantic Testing Laboratories (ATL), a Canton, New York–headquartered engineering support and testing services firm. The acquisition strengthens Phenna's presence in the United States and expands its capabilities in construction materials, geotechnical/drilling, and environmental services across roads, pavements, groundworks and utilities.

Entities managed by Good Springs Capital have completed a control investment in Tectonic Engineering Consultants, Geologists & Land Surveyors, D.P.C., a Mountainville, New York‑headquartered multi‑disciplined engineering firm with over 500 employees. Tectonic's founders/management will remain significant owners and will continue to operate the business while Good Springs supports accelerated growth, geographic expansion and strategic add-on acquisitions.

The LiRo Group and Hill International's Northeast Region have completed a strategic merger to form LiRo-Hill, creating one of the largest AEC firms in the Northeastern United States. The combined firm brings together portions of Hill New York and all New England operations with LiRo’s existing business, expanding the company's staff to more than 1,200 employees and broadening its service capabilities across infrastructure, transportation, housing and healthcare markets.

Legence, a Blackstone portfolio company, has acquired New York City–based engineering firm AMA Group from DC Capital Partners. AMA will be integrated into CMTA, Legence's largest MEP engineering platform, expanding Legence's capabilities in acoustics, lighting, immersive audio-visual design and strengthening its presence in New York City to support building decarbonization initiatives.

Madison River Capital completed a $190 million recapitalization and a $70 million equity investment in JDC Power Systems, an Armonk, New York-based electrical systems integrator serving the data center market. The transaction positions JDC for accelerated growth in the rapidly expanding data center sector and includes new operating leadership appointments from MRC's team.

Hexagon AB has acquired Voyansi, an AECO-focused provider of BIM, VDC, reality capture services and BIM workflow software development. The acquisition adds BIM support and recurring revenue to Hexagon’s Geosystems/AECO portfolio and will be fully consolidated as of June 2024.

JLL has agreed to acquire SKAE Power Solutions, a New York–based provider of data center technical and project management services, to expand its data center lifecycle capabilities. The SKAE team of approximately 75 employees will join JLL Work Dynamics and will form JLL's Technical Services division within the Data Center vertical.

An affiliate of GAI Consultants, a platform company in Comvest Partners' private equity portfolio, has acquired Creighton Manning Engineering of Albany, New York. Creighton Manning becomes a division of GAI (Creighton Manning, a GAI Company), with its leadership continuing to run the business and becoming owners in GAI, expanding GAI's transportation engineering capabilities and New York geographic footprint.

WSP Global Inc. has acquired AKF Group LLC, a New York City–based mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering firm with approximately 365 professionals operating across the eastern U.S. and Mexico. The acquisition expands WSP’s Property & Buildings practice, strengthening its technical capabilities and presence in the U.S. Northeast and other high-demand specialty building markets.

SAM, a national provider of Managed Geospatial and Inspection services based in Austin, Texas, has merged GdB Geospatial into its SAM-NY Geospatial subsidiary, making the merged entity a 100% owned subsidiary of SAM. The transaction expands SAM's capabilities and footprint in geomatics, GIS, and spatial data management across utility, transportation, and public works markets.

H.I.G. Capital has completed the acquisition of CHA Consulting, Inc., a full-service engineering, design, consulting, and program management firm headquartered in Albany, New York, from First Reserve. The transaction closed January 19, 2024; financial terms were not disclosed. H.I.G. will partner with CHA's existing management to accelerate growth organically and via add-on acquisitions across North America.

Trinity Consultants has acquired Longman Lindsey, a New York–based full-service acoustical consultancy, and integrated it into its Built Environment pillar alongside prior acoustical acquisitions such as Cerami. Founder John Longman will remain a key leader within Trinity's Built Environment division; AEC Advisors advised Longman Lindsey on the sale.

RMA Companies, a portfolio company of OceanSound Partners, has added Big Apple Group, a New York-based testing and inspection firm, to its national platform. The acquisition expands RMA's geographic footprint in the Northeast and adds advanced monitoring, optical scanning, and remote sensing capabilities to its materials testing and inspection services.

Control Point Associates, Inc. has acquired Brooks & Brooks Land Surveyors, P.C., adding the historic Highland, New York firm as its Hudson Valley office. Co-owners Patricia and Richard Brooks will transition into the Control Point organization as the acquisition expands the buyer's geographic footprint and complements its mapping and geospatial service offerings.

Keystone Capital Management’s portfolio company VDA, Inc. acquired Sierra Consulting Group in an add-on deal completed in November 2021 and announced in April 2022. The acquisition expands VDA’s mandated inspection and modernization consulting capabilities in the vertical transportation (elevator/escalator) market and brings Sierra founder Joseph Caracappa and his team into VDA’s leadership.

PS&S has acquired the assets of B. Thayer Associates, a 30-year multi-discipline architecture, engineering, surveying and landscape architecture firm with offices in Woodbury and Long Island City, New York. The acquisition expands PS&S's presence and capabilities in the New York market; founder Barbara Thayer will continue in a leadership role as PS&S pursues a broader infrastructure-focused growth plan.

Sciens Building Solutions has acquired Rochester, New York-based West Fire Systems, Inc., expanding Sciens' fire detection and integrated solutions platform into upstate New York and the broader Northeast. The acquisition adds West Fire's expertise in fire detection, voice communication systems, integrated security, and nurse call solutions to Sciens' national footprint as part of its buy-and-build strategy.

Trinity Consultants announced the acquisition of Cerami & Associates, a 75+ person acoustics and technology consulting firm founded in 1965. The deal brings Cerami's noise, vibration, audiovisual, security and IT infrastructure expertise into Trinity's building sciences platform to expand service capabilities for building designers and industrial clients.

Corbett Technology Solutions, Inc. (CTSI), a Wind Point Partners portfolio company, has acquired Structure Works, Inc., a security-integration provider headquartered in Dover Plains, New York. The add-on expands CTSI's enterprise security integration capabilities (card access, CCTV, alarms) and extends its ability to support customers internationally.

Milrose Consultants, a platform backed by Southfield Capital, announced a strategic partnership to add Special Inspection Services (SIS) Engineering, DPC — a Bohemia, New York-based inspections and construction consulting firm — to its special inspections capabilities. The transaction expands Milrose's national service offering alongside prior add-ons (Permit Advisors, Integrated Group) to better serve Class A commercial real estate clients.

Rimkus Consulting Group, a global forensic engineering and technical consulting firm, has acquired Sullivan Engineering, a building envelope consulting firm headquartered in New York. The acquisition expands Rimkus' Building Sciences capabilities and broadens its regional presence in the Northeast to deliver enhanced building envelope and restoration consulting services.

AE Industrial Partners, LP has acquired Cross-Fire & Security Co., a full-service fire and life safety company headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Cross-Fire will serve as the entry point for a new fire and life safety services platform for AEI as the firm looks to consolidate the fragmented sector and invest in growth and capability expansion.

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a global infrastructure consulting firm and member of Dar Group, has acquired Silman, a New York–based structural engineering firm founded in 1966. The acquisition brings Silman’s ~160 staff and deep capabilities in structural engineering, historic preservation, and adaptive reuse into TYLI to strengthen its Buildings Market Sector and expand technical capacity across the Americas.

Blood Hound Inc., an affiliate of USIC, LLC, acquired Subsurface Utility Imaging (SUI), a Utica, New York–based provider of underground utility locating, concrete imaging and pipeline inspection services. The deal expands Blood Hound's service capabilities (manhole inspections, CCTV inspections and smoke testing) and strengthens its coverage in the Northeast and Mid‑Atlantic regions.

The Pritzker Organization (advising Tom Pritzker Family Business Interests) will recapitalize STV Group by purchasing ESOP-held shares and partnering with management to support future growth. The transaction, approved by STV's board and ESOP trustee Greatbanc Trust Company with Houlihan Lokey advising STV, is expected to close in December 2019.

Victor Capital Partners made a minority growth investment in Rizzo Group to support the company's innovation, technology-enabled solutions, geographic expansion, and add-on acquisition strategy. Management (including CEO Stephen Rizzo and founder Charles Rizzo) will remain in place and retain significant ownership while Victor Capital will provide board representation and resources to accelerate growth.

SOCOTEC Group has acquired ArchEng Holding Company d/b/a Vidaris from Cortec Group Fund V, L.P.; terms were not disclosed. Vidaris, a New York–headquartered multidisciplinary specialty consultancy with ~300 professionals, was owned by Cortec since 2015 and expanded significantly under its ownership. SOCOTEC, controlled by affiliates of Cobepa, will integrate Vidaris to broaden its technical inspection, assurance and advisory capabilities and U.S. footprint.