Morgan Stanley's private equity arm acquires environmental consultancy Apex
Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP), the private equity arm of the financial services giant, has acquired a majority stake in environmental consultancy Apex Companies from Sentinel Capital Partners.
Sentinel will retain a minority stake in Apex following closure of the deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed.
During Sentinel’s four-year ownership of Apex, the mid-market PE firm completed four add-on acquisitions: Retention Pond Services, Environmental Partners, CME Engineering LP and CME Operations LP, and the safety and environmental consulting business of Bureau Veritas.
Based in Rockville, MD, Apex has more than 1,100 professionals in 50 offices coast-to-coast. The firm provides consulting services in water infrastructure and resources, compliance and assurance (including ESG advisory), health and safety, transportation, and civil engineering. Apex works with public and private sector clients in the energy, industrial, manufacturing, real estate, retail, and telecom markets.
“We believe the company’s record of expansion, both organically and through accretive M&A, has generated substantial momentum for continued growth,” said Eric Kanter, managing director and head of industrials at MSCP. “We are excited to partner with Dave and the Apex leadership team to drive continued success in Apex’s core service offerings and to pursue strategic M&A that adds additional geographic presence, service capabilities and customer diversity.”
Apex CEO Dave Fabianski and his management team will continue to lead the business post-closing.
“Together with MSCP we will accelerate our strategic growth pursuits in water, environmental, infrastructure, and ESG, while expanding our investment in Apex’s people, culture, and digital strategies,” Fabianski said. “The outlook in our industry has never been better, and we are excited to partner with the MSCP team for our next chapter of growth.”
Robert W. Baird & Co., Houlihan Lokey, and AEC Advisors served as financial advisors to Apex, while Harris Williams and Raymond James served as financial advisors to MSCP.
MSCP targets mid-market companies in business services, consumer, healthcare, education, and industrials markets. The PE platform in 2021 acquired Alliance Technical Group, an air-quality testing and monitoring solutions firm.
