An Affiliate Of H.I.G. Capital Acquires Tower Engineering Professionals

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $55 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has completed the acquisition of Tower Engineering Professionals, Inc., a leading full-service provider of engineering and maintenance services to tower, mobile network, and other telecom infrastructure customers.

Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, TEP is one of the largest wireless and wireline engineering and infrastructure services providers to tower and telecom customers. The Company’s offering includes inspection and mapping services, structural and civil engineering, fiber engineering and maintenance, project and construction management, and site acquisition and survey services. TEP has locations throughout the United States and Canada.

Andy Haldane, Chief Executive Officer of TEP commented, “We are excited to enter into this new chapter of growth with H.I.G. TEP is one of the most experienced and successful telecom-focused engineering firms, with a turnkey offering that has resulted in strong growth since the Company’s inception. We look forward to partnering with H.I.G., who brings significant experience and resources in both the infrastructure services and telecom sectors, and continuing to provide industry leading customer service.”

Miriam Rafiqi, Managing Director at H.I.G. Infrastructure, added, “We look forward to partnering with Andy and his exceptional management team. TEP is a leading provider of telecom services, playing a critical role in helping infrastructure owners and connectivity providers maintain and expand their footprints.”

Harris Williams acted as financial advisor and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to H.I.G. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP served as legal counsel to TEP.

About Tower Engineering Professionals

Founded in 1997, Tower Engineering Professionals (“TEP”) is one of the largest, most trusted, multi-disciplined engineering services firms focused on the telecommunications industry, completing over 100,000 projects annually. TEP has expanded beyond its Raleigh, NC, headquarters to 35+ locations across North America.

Underpinned by a deep focus on safety and training, TEP provides a full suite of turnkey solutions, including structural engineering, inspection and mapping services, civil engineering, land surveying, environmental services, geotechnical engineering, material testing, and construction, as well as plumbing, mechanical, and electrical engineering services for the telecommunications, utility, and renewable energy industries.

Most TEP employees are civil, structural, or geotechnical engineers serving wireless, wireline, and tower customers. Engineering News-Record (ENR) consistently places TEP in the top 3 design firms by sector year after year. TEP has a leading national footprint, maintaining engineering and contractor licenses in all 50 states, the majority of Canadian provinces, and other international locations.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative assets investment firm with $55 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the USA, as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

  1. H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
  2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
  3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
  4. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.