The Exigent Group, Part of Huron Capital in Detroit, Acquires Two HVAC Firms

The Exigent Group, the building mechanical and plumbing services platform of Detroit private equity firm Huron Capital, has acquired Smith-Boughan Mechanical in Ohio and Maryland’s Electrical Automation Systems (EASI) in separate transactions. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Smith-Boughan in Lima, Ohio was founded in 1927 and services northwest and west central Ohio. The company provides a full suite of service offerings, including HVAC, plumbing, controls, sheet metal fabrication, and process piping for a variety of end markets, including industrial, health care, government, education, and other commercial customers.

“We are proud to join the Exigent Group and understand how Smith-Boughan’s expertise and customer base make us a great fit for the team,” says Sam Halker, president of Smith-Boughan.

EASI is an established building automation, controls, and mechanical services company based in Pasadena, Md., with a second office in Salisbury, Md. EASI provides services across education, government, and other commercial end markets.

“With our roots in controls, HVAC, and mechanical services and shared vision for growth with Exigent leadership, we are uniquely positioned for future success in our market and in collaboration with the other Exigent companies,” says Jeff Ashe, president of EASI.

The acquisitions represent the sixth and seventh acquisitions in Exigent since the platform’s initial acquisition in August 2022. Exigent was launched from Huron’s buy-and-build ExecFactor approach of investing in businesses providing mission-critical services where Huron has deep experience, established playbooks, and a long history of partnering with CEOs to build premier companies.

“We are preparing to embark on our third year of growth and with the support of the Huron team, Exigent is poised to continue our service and geographic expansion,” says Peter van Niekerk, CEO of Exigent. “I am excited to welcome Sam and Jeff to the team and leverage our combined expertise and best practices to continue building the best group in mechanical services.”

Jim Mahoney, managing partner at Huron Capital, says, “Exigent’s new partners, Smith-Boughan and EASI, enable the company to better serve its customers and capture new market opportunities. Together, we’re positioned to leverage our combined expertise to keep large, critical facility operations running optimally and efficiently.”

Upon the completion of these acquisitions, Exigent will have operations in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest regions of the United States. Exigent continues to seek new partnerships with highly technical, union-powered mechanical and plumbing service companies in the eastern half of the country.

“These acquisitions accelerate our strategy of being a leading, service-forward mechanical services company,” says Cale Kaczmarek, principal at Huron Capital. “The partnerships with Smith-Boughan and EASI further strengthen our position and allow us to deliver great value to our employees, customers, and other stakeholders in current markets, in addition to providing expansion into the platform’s fourth region.”

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