Detroit’s Huron Capital Partners, a lower middle-market private equity firm, has acquired Ace Asphalt of Arizona Inc. and plans to merge it with its infrastructure services portfolio company Sunland Asphalt & Construction Inc., also in Arizona.
Sunland is a leading asphalt producer and paving solutions provider based in Phoenix. Ace was founded in 1966 and provides parking lot maintenance and repair, and comprehensive site development services for paved and concrete surfaces in five southwestern states: Arizona, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
“The entire Ace team is proud of the growth we have achieved over the past several years,” says Scott Phillips, president of Ace, who will remain with the combined company as president of its Western Division. “We are excited to continue that growth by joining forces with Sunland and creating what we believe to be one of the market leaders in our region.”
According to Huron Capital, the combination of the two companies provides greater market stability and expands Sunland’s presence into two new states — Texas and Oklahoma.
Doug DeClusin, CEO of Sunland, will continue to serve as CEO and lead the integration of the two companies as they come together under the Sunland brand.
“We have always had tremendous respect for Ace’s team and the company’s capabilities,” says DeClusin. “This merger provides both companies with an exciting opportunity to diversify our markets and expand our services to a wide array of public and private customers. The combination of our infrastructure and services will prepare us to offer the most powerful and comprehensive suite of solutions available.”
The merger of Sunland and Ace also paves the way for the combined company to offer a greater range of services. New and existing customers will benefit from Ace’s slurry-sealing capabilities and Sunland’s chip-sealing expertise, as well as both companies’ state-of-the art equipment and similar service-oriented cultures, according to the companies.
“Given its fragmentation and strong secular tailwinds, infrastructure services is an area we’ve been targeting for several years,” says Jim Mahoney, managing partner at Huron Capital. “We made our initial platform investment in Sunland earlier this year and could not be more pleased with the quick completion of this first acquisition. We are delighted to partner with Doug, Scott, and their respective teams to build on the established momentum of both Sunland and Ace and leverage the market and financial strength of the combined companies going forward.”
