Acquisitions in Mississippi in 2024

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, has agreed to acquire Rolls-Royce’s Naval Propulsors & Handling business, including manufacturing campuses in Pascagoula, Mississippi and Walpole, Massachusetts, with the Peterborough, Ontario handling facility to transfer later. The acquisition expands FMD’s naval propulsion, foundry and handling capabilities to better serve U.S. and allied navies and preserves critical manufacturing capacity for the U.S. Navy supply chain.

Huron Capital’s commercial roofing platform Rampart Exterior Services completed its inaugural add-on acquisition with the purchase of Independent Roofing Systems, a central Mississippi commercial roofing contractor. The deal was supported with financing and an equity co-investment led by Monroe Capital; Independent’s existing leadership will remain in place as Rampart integrates the company into its buy-and-build strategy.

Trinity Consultants, a global environmental consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, has acquired Environmental Compliance & Safety, Inc. (ECS), a Mississippi-based environmental and safety consulting firm. ECS will operate within Trinity's environmental consulting business, with its leadership and offices in Sherman and Brandon, Mississippi, remaining in place to strengthen Trinity's EHS capabilities and presence in the Gulf/Southeast.

Granite Construction Incorporated completed the acquisition of Dickerson & Bowen, Inc., adding three sand and gravel pits and four asphalt plants to its Southeast materials footprint. The bolt-on expands Granite's presence in central and southern Mississippi and builds on its recent Southeast materials platform.

Novastone Capital Advisors (NCA), a Switzerland-based private equity firm, has acquired Keystone Specialty Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy based in Mississippi. The acquisition was completed as part of NCA’s Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA) program; Dr. Lisa Piercey will lead the pharmacy and the sellers were owners Jeffrey and Kim Clark.

Nation's Best Holdings, a Dallas-based holding company focused on home improvement stores, acquired Huntington Lumber & Supply Co., a Do it Best Home Center in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. The transaction closed July 15, 2024, with the Huntington brothers selling the business and remaining in place to manage operations as part of Nation's Best's roll-up strategy to grow independent hardware and building-supply locations.

Jones Capital has sold Portabull Fuel Services, LLC, a Purvis, Mississippi-based mobile fuel management and equipment rental company operating across 22 states, to CR Fuels, a wholesale fuels provider based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The sale transfers Portabull's fleet, fuel-management technology, and customer relationships (heavy construction, pipeline and renewable projects) to CR Fuels; Butler Snow served as legal counsel to the sellers.

Sunstar Insurance Group, a regionally focused insurance broker based in Memphis, Tennessee, acquired the assets of Renasant Insurance, Inc. from Renasant Corporation effective July 1, 2024. Renasant Insurance will rebrand as Sunstar Insurance Services, with all leadership and employees joining Sunstar as the acquisition provides Sunstar its first agency presence in Mississippi and expands its products and services in the region.

Qualus Corporation has acquired ASSET Engineering, a Jackson, Mississippi–based power engineering and consulting firm specializing in renewable generation development, battery energy storage systems, microgrids, and distributed energy resources. The acquisition expands Qualus' capabilities in renewables, energy storage, and critical-infrastructure support for clients such as utilities, developers, and data centers and broadens its U.S. footprint.

FV Recycling, a Jones Capital portfolio company based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has acquired the paper recycling business of JET Polymer Recycling (commonly known as Tupelo Recycling), adding a recycling plant in Tupelo, Mississippi. The acquisition densifies FV Recycling’s footprint across North Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee and expands its commercial recycling and baler equipment repair capabilities.

Broadwing Capital Management LLC, in partnership with Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, has made a strategic growth investment in Upchurch Companies, a family-owned regional mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) service provider. The investment will fund operational improvements and support organic and acquisitive expansion while the Upchurch family remains involved in day-to-day operations.

Duff Capital Investors, the Columbia, Mississippi holding company owned by brothers James and Thomas Duff, purchased John O'Neil Johnson Toyota and John O'Neil Johnson Hyundai from owner Neil Johnson in 2023. The stores were renamed Toyota of Meridian and Hyundai of Meridian after closing (Toyota closed Aug. 1, 2023; Hyundai closed Oct. 24, 2023) as Duff expands its dealership footprint in Mississippi.

United Rentals has completed the acquisition of Yak Access (including Yak Mat and New South Access & Environmental Solutions) from Platinum Equity for approximately $1.1 billion in cash. Yak is a leading North American matting and ground-protection provider (≈600,000 mats, ~135 distribution points, operating in 40+ states) and reported $353 million of adjusted revenue and $171 million of adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2023; United Rentals financed the purchase with new senior unsecured notes and available ABL capacity.

PointClickCare Technologies has acquired American HealthTech, Inc. (AHT), a subsidiary of Computer Programs and Systems, Inc. (CPSI), in a divestiture intended to transition AHT customers to PointClickCare's post-acute care platform. CPSI divested AHT as part of a business transformation and selected PointClickCare to continue supporting AHT's post-acute EHR customers and integrate them into its broader care-collaboration network.