The Halifax Group Acquires United States Environmental Services
Firm Announces Plans to Merge USES with K2 and Create a More Comprehensive Industrial and Environmental Services Provider
HOUSTON, TX — June 10, 2014 — The Halifax Group (“Halifax”) announced that it has completed, in partnership with management, the acquisition of United States Environmental Services, Inc. (“USES”). USES is a leading provider of non-discretionary environmental and industrial services, including emergency response services, industrial cleaning and other recurring maintenance services to refineries, petro-chemical plants, owners of bulk storage terminals, and marine and rail transportation companies. Terms of the acquisition, which occurred on March 31, 2014, were not disclosed.
Halifax also signed a merger agreement this week to merge USES with K2 Industrial Services, Inc. (“K2”). The merger will close in late June after completion of new debt arrangements. K2 is an outsourced plant maintenance services company that Halifax acquired in late 2011. It has operations in Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Florida, and California, plus seven other states, and a 100+ year operating history.
The combined company will have 41 branches from coast to coast, over 2,000 employees and broad, complementary capabilities ranging from chemical cleaning to hazardous material emergency response, as well as specialty crafts, such as coatings and insulation. It will operate under a single, unified brand – USES. Greg Johnson, CEO of USES, will serve as the combined company’s CEO. He said: “The new USES has a larger, national footprint and an impressive range of services. Together, we have the size and strength to handle any project for our customers, who operate in diverse end markets such as refining, steel, paper and power. Further, our new partnership with Halifax and the K2 team should provide the financial resources to accelerate our growth and create value.”
“We’re building a leader in a rapidly consolidating market sector and are supportive of Greg’s vision to build the premier player in an $8 billion market and provide a single source solution to a demanding, sophisticated set of customers,” said David Dupree, co-founder, CEO and Managing Director at Halifax. “We are proponents of infrastructure investing; this is our firm’s fifth investment predicated on delivering needed services, products and expertise to our country’s critical energy, power, transportation and manufacturing infrastructure.”
“Greg and his team have built a differentiated business with sophisticated processes and systems, and unique focus on people, including a substantial investment in safety & training,” said Scott Van Duinen, Principal at Halifax. “When combined with K2, the new USES will have a deep, world-class management team, will be an employer of choice, and a reliable partner, not just a vendor, committed to safety and efficiency.”
About The Halifax Group
The Halifax Group is a private equity firm that partners with managers and entrepreneurs to recapitalize and grow lower middle-market businesses across a variety of industries including health and wellness, infrastructure, business and government services, specialty distribution and franchising. The firm maintains offices in Washington, D.C.; Dallas, TX; and Raleigh, NC. For more information, please visit www.thehalifaxgroup.com.
Neither The Halifax Group nor its affiliates provides investment advisory services to the public.
