Engineering Services Acquisitions in Tennessee

Ardurra Group, Inc. has acquired J.R. Wauford & Company, a Nashville-based water and wastewater engineering firm, adding approximately 35 professionals to Ardurra's team. The deal expands Ardurra's high-end water capabilities and strengthens its Tennessee presence; Ardurra is a Littlejohn & Co. portfolio company.

Ardurra Group Inc., a Littlejohn-backed engineering platform, has acquired Cannon & Cannon, Inc. (CCI), a Knoxville-based civil engineering firm specializing in utility infrastructure. The add-on expands Ardurra’s presence in Tennessee and brings more than 100 CCI professionals into Ardurra’s nationwide team.

Palm Beach Capital (through Palm Beach Capital Fund VI, L.P.) made a strategic growth investment in MBI Companies, an architecture and engineering design firm headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, to serve as the launch platform for a national architecture and design services roll-up. MBI will retain its name, leadership and two offices (Knoxville and Chattanooga), while PBC will provide growth capital and pursue an acquisition strategy to expand services and geographic reach.

Godspeed Capital-backed ICE USA has acquired Robert G. Campbell & Associates (RGC&A), a Knoxville-based civil engineering, surveying, and inspection firm. The add-on expands ICE USA's presence and capabilities in the Tennessee market by adding more than 40 professionals and strengthening its surveying, civil engineering, and construction management services for public infrastructure clients.

Pape-Dawson Engineers, LLC has acquired Tennessee-based engineering firm RaganSmith to expand its civil engineering, surveying, and land planning capabilities and presence in the southeastern United States. RaganSmith, founded in 1933 and headquartered in Nashville with about 170 employees across offices in Nashville, Chattanooga and Murfreesboro, will join Pape-Dawson's national platform (which is backed by Palm Beach Capital).

Mellott has acquired Southern Machinery, a Tennessee-based engineering and material-processing systems firm founded in 1958. The deal expands Mellott’s engineering, inventory, sales and service capabilities to better serve the aggregates and related industries.

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) has acquired Dan Brown and Associates (DBA), a geotechnical and foundation engineering firm headquartered in Tennessee. The acquisition expands UES's geotechnical capabilities and Southeast footprint while DBA's leadership will continue to operate day-to-day business.

Ardurra Group, Inc., a portfolio company of RTC Partners, has acquired and merged with Fulghum, MacIndoe & Associates, Inc. (FMA), a Knoxville-based water/civil engineering and construction management firm. The deal expands Ardurra's Southeast footprint by adding a Tennessee office and integrates FMA into the Ardurra platform as FMA, an Ardurra Group Company.

Qualus, LLC acquired Patterson Power Engineers, LLC, a Chattanooga-based power system protection engineering firm, to strengthen Qualus’s protection engineering capabilities and technical services offering for utilities. The deal brings Patterson’s specialized engineering team into Qualus’s network of field service and engineering offices, providing expanded capabilities and opportunities for employees.

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) has acquired GEOServices, LLC, a Knoxville-based geotechnical engineering, materials testing and environmental services firm, to expand UES's footprint in Tennessee and the broader South. The GEOServices management and technical staff will remain with the business; the deal is noted as the ninth investment associated with Palm Beach Capital and UES leadership.

Capitala Group, alongside SouthWorth Capital Management, closed an investment in Fremont-Wright, LLC to support the company's next phase of growth. Fremont-Wright is a Memphis-based holding company of nine engineering, surveying, and architectural firms operating across eleven states and will use the capital to pursue acquisitions and expand its footprint.

Cumming, a portfolio company of Tailwind Capital, has acquired Nashville-based CAPEX Project Management LLC. The add-on expands Cumming’s project management and building consultancy resources across the Southeast and Central U.S., bolstering its ability to serve developers, REITs, private equity investors and government clients.