Peak Utility Services Group, a portfolio company of ORIX Capital Partners since June 2018, has acquired Utility Sales & Service (USS).
USS provides electric and water meter reading and maintenance services for investor-owned and cooperative utilities. The company has more than fifty employees and owns a fleet of 60 trucks.
USS was co-founded in 1997 by Patrick Arias and is headquartered near Denver in Longmont, CO (www.utilitysalesandservice.com).
Peak is a provider of utility services to the natural gas, telecom, and electric utility markets in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West regions of the United States. The company, led by CEO Jason Pickett, provides a suite of services for the recurring repair, replacement, maintenance, and installation of natural gas, aerial and underground telecom, and overhead and underground electric infrastructure.
Peak currently operates through three subsidiaries: Track Utilities, a Meridian, ID-based provider of electric and telecommunications infrastructure services; SiteWise Corporation, a Wheat Ridge, CO-based provider of maintenance and construction services for natural gas utility owners (Sitewise was acquired by Peak in April 2016); and Kelly Cable, a Albuquerque, NM-based provider of aerial and underground construction services to telecom and electric utility owners in New Mexico (Kelly was acquired by Peak in July 2017). In total, the company has 22 locations and nearly 1,000 employees with a headquarters in Meridian, ID (www.peakusg.com).
With the closing of this transaction, USS will become a division of SiteWise. Additionally, USS co-founder Patrick Arias will be retiring from the company and Michael Arias, the current director of operations for USS, will lead the daily operations of the company and provide strategic direction alongside SiteWise.
“As Peak embarks upon its consolidation strategy, we view USS as a compelling opportunity that strengthens the platform,” said Terry Suzuki, president and CEO of ORIX Capital Partners. “The acquisition of USS furthers Peak’s strategy to become a leading utility services platform and to build out a robust suite of value-added capabilities.”
“The addition of USS allows SiteWise to further expand our service offerings nationwide,” said Ben Moe, president of SiteWise. “USSI is a recognized leader for electric meter services within its markets and has an outstanding track record of delivering safe and reliable electric metering services to its customers.”
ORIX Capital Partners invests from $75 million to $200 million of equity per transaction in North America based middle-market companies that are active in the business services, infrastructure services and industrials sectors. New York-based ORIX Capital Partners is a business unit of ORIX USA, a Dallas-based financial services firm. Its parent company, ORIX Corporation, is a Tokyo-based, publicly owned financial services company with operations in 38 countries and regions worldwide (www.orixcapitalpartners.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | August 6, 2019
