Infrastructure Acquisitions in 2020

Road Safety Services, a Parallel49 Equity portfolio company, completed an add-on acquisition of Twin Traffic Marking Corp. and Traffic Zone Services (collectively “Twin Traffic”), expanding its pavement marking and traffic control capabilities. The deal bolsters RSS’s scale and presence in the Central U.S., particularly Kansas and Missouri, and supports continued platform buildout in road safety services.

The Vortex Companies, LLC has acquired North American Pipeline Services, LLC (NAP), expanding Vortex’s trenchless infrastructure service capabilities and presence in the Mid-Atlantic. NAP, founded in 1974 and now based in Freehold, New Jersey, employs about 55 people and provides CCTV inspection, pipe bursting, CIPP lining and other sewer and water rehabilitation services.

Congruex, a PE-backed national provider of telecom engineering and construction services, has acquired Gudenkauf Corporation, a Columbus-based provider of self-perform outside plant construction, splicing and emergency restoration services. The add-on expands Congruex's geographic footprint into Ohio and West Virginia and strengthens its capabilities serving broadband operators across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Aptus Group USA, a portfolio company of private equity firm 3 Rivers Capital, has acquired King Electric of Fayetteville, a family-owned bridge utility infrastructure services provider with 30 employees. The add-on expands Aptus' footprint into the Mid-Atlantic, strengthens its bridge-attached utility capabilities, and retains owner Richard W. King as Aptus' President of the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Affiliates of Lindsay Goldberg acquired a majority interest in Pike Corporation, a leading U.S. provider of infrastructure, construction and engineering services to utilities. The transaction supplies Pike with new equity and an incremental term loan B to support growth and strategic initiatives while founder J. Eric Pike and other existing investors remain significant shareholders.

KLH Capital, alongside J2 Partners, invested in Jackson Infrastructure Services to recapitalize B. Jackson Construction and Engineering, LLC and certain affiliates. Founder and CEO Bart Jackson will remain in place as the firms provide liquidity and capital to support growth across telecom, power, gas and other infrastructure markets.

Edgewater Growth Capital Partners IV invested in DataBank to fund DataBank's acquisition of zColo Data Centers from Zayo Group Holdings, adding 44 data centers across 23 U.S. and European markets. The deal expands DataBank's footprint to a national scale—bringing the company to 64 data centers in 29 markets and strengthening its edge colocation, connectivity and managed services capabilities.

Quanta Services, Inc. acquired Lee Electrical Construction, LLC in August 2020. Lee Electrical Construction, headquartered in Aberdeen, North Carolina, provides power line construction, transmission/substation and storm restoration services to investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and industrial customers across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States; Founders Advisors advised Lee on the sale.

White Deer Energy has acquired Renewable Energy Infrastructure Group's electric vehicle infrastructure design-build business, EV Infrastructure. The company, headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, provides turnkey engineering and construction of Level 2 and Level 3 fast-charging stations primarily for commercial fleet, utility and municipal customers; financial terms were not disclosed.

Ubiquity Management, LP has completed the acquisition of Millennium Telcom, LLC d/b/a OneSource Communications from Tri-County Electric Cooperative. Ubiquity plans substantial investment in OneSource’s 300+ mile fiber network in the Dallas–Fort Worth area to grow residential and business broadband penetration and expand services across the market.

Artera Services has acquired Otis Eastern Service, a Wellsville, New York-based pipeline contractor, from Argonaut Private Equity. The acquisition (about 600 employees across seven states) expands Artera’s geographic footprint in the Northeast and Appalachian regions and preserves Otis Eastern’s leadership under CEO Casey Joyce.

Inland Pipe Rehabilitation (IPR), a portfolio company of an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), has completed the acquisition of Murphy Pipeline Contractors. The deal adds Murphy's trenchless potable water rehabilitation capabilities (including its CompressionFit solution and pre-chlorinated pipe bursting) to IPR's existing wastewater and storm-water offerings as a complementary add-on to expand capabilities and national reach.

Frontline Road Safety, a platform backed by The Sterling Group, has completed the acquisition of Griffin Pavement Striping, a Columbus, Ohio-based provider of road, highway and airport line striping. The deal is an add-on to Frontline’s national road-safety and pavement marking platform intended to expand the platform’s local execution capabilities and geographic footprint in Ohio.

AVS Verkehrssicherung, a Triton Fund IV portfolio company, has signed an agreement to acquire SRV Verkehrstechnik GmbH, a provider of permanent and temporary road marking and construction site traffic safety services based in Limbach-Oberfrohna, Germany. SRV employs 26 people and the acquisition is intended to expand AVS's regional service portfolio and consolidate traffic-safety capabilities across the group.

Frontline Road Safety, a portfolio company of The Sterling Group, has acquired Apply-A-Line, a Pacific, Washington-based provider of road and airport striping solutions. The acquisition is an add-on to Frontline's platform as Sterling builds a national road safety and infrastructure maintenance platform through organic growth and M&A.

EQT Infrastructure (EQT Infrastructure IV) has agreed to acquire EdgeConneX, a global data center provider operating over 40 facilities across 33 markets, from an investor group led by Providence Equity Partners. The transaction is intended to support accelerated growth, new market entry and material expansions of EdgeConneX's existing locations; it was announced Aug. 19, 2020 and expected to close in Q4 2020.

NMS Capital has completed a recapitalization of Exo Group, LLC, partnering with Exo's founders and management who will remain significant shareholders. The investment will provide capital to support Exo's growth in data-driven asset inspection, remediation, engineering and training services for steel infrastructure across North America.

AEA Investors' Small Business Fund (AEA SBF) has closed the acquisition of CLS Management Services, Inc., a national provider of land management and right-of-way services for utilities, public infrastructure and energy customers. The deal gives AEA a platform with a national footprint, proprietary project management technology and comprehensive land management capabilities to support infrastructure project lifecycle needs.

M/C Partners has closed an equity investment in TowerCom, a Jacksonville, Florida-based communications tower developer. The investment provides initial capital and additional future commitment to support TowerCom's new tower build plan as carriers expand 5G coverage.

A consortium led by Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund 2 (MAIF2), managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), has closed financial close to acquire an 88% stake in AirTrunk, valuing the company at more than A$3 billion. The stake was purchased from Goldman Sachs, Sixth Street Partners and founder Robin Khuda, who will retain a material stake and remain CEO; the investment will accelerate AirTrunk's planned expansion across the Asia-Pacific.

TierPoint agreed to receive $320 million of preferred equity led by Argo Infrastructure Partners, Wafra, and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance, with participation from existing investors including Cequel III, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, RedBird Capital Partners, The Stephens Group, and Thompson Street Capital Partners. Net proceeds will repay second-lien debt, reduce the revolving credit facility balance, and provide growth capital to fund TierPoint's continued expansion of its data-center and hybrid cloud services.

Macquarie Capital Principal Finance has made a growth capital investment in Matrix Networks Group to support expansion of its specialist utility infrastructure services and connection asset ownership across the UK. The investment will help Matrix accelerate growth plans, expand its asset adoption programme and increase delivery of gas, electricity and water installations for industrial and commercial real estate developments.

Colony Capital made a $185 million equity investment in DataBank and acquired Edgewater Growth Capital’s ownership stake in the Dallas-based data-center operator. The capital infusion positions DataBank to accelerate its data-center platform expansion and pursue additional organic and M&A growth opportunities.

RoadSafe Traffic Systems, the nation’s largest provider of traffic control and pavement marking services, has acquired A Cone Zone Inc., a Corona, California-based traffic management equipment and services provider focused on utility end markets. The deal expands RoadSafe’s California footprint and strengthens its utility service offering as part of its Western U.S. consolidation strategy; RoadSafe is a platform company owned by ORIX Capital Partners.

GI Partners, a private investment firm, acquired a majority interest in DR Fortress, LLC, Hawaii's largest carrier‑neutral data center, in partnership with DR Fortress' management team including co‑founders Fred Rodi and Rosa White. The investment is intended to accelerate growth, increase resiliency, and expand relationships with global cloud and content providers while maintaining local engagement in Hawaii and the broader Pacific region.

Peak Utility Services Group (a PE-backed utility services platform) has acquired Riley Brothers, Inc., a Stoughton, Massachusetts-based provider of natural gas and electric utility construction services. The deal is an add-on to Peak's platform (which is sponsored by ORIX Capital Partners) and expands Peak's presence into the New England market while keeping Riley Brothers' founder Tim Riley and existing management in place.