First Reserve Announces Acquisition of Applied-Cleveland Holdings, Inc. From Nautic Partners

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Sep 12, 2016, 09:00 ET

GREENWICH, Conn. and HOUSTON, Sept. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- First Reserve, a leading global private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy, today announced the acquisition of Applied-Cleveland Corporation ("A-C") from Nautic Partners. A-C is a leading provider of inspection and integrity management services for energy infrastructure assets in North America across a variety of energy end markets, including transmission, gathering and distribution.

A-C offers mission-critical inspection services, partnering with midstream and utility companies to provide proven inspection solutions to ensure asset integrity and safety and environmental best practices. The company believes it provides the most experienced, qualified and highly technical resources in the industry. With over twenty-five years in business, A-C has developed a core base of inspectors, creating a differentiated platform of scale focused on supplying timely, high-quality, cost-effective services with safety as a top priority.

Jeff Quake and Gary Reaves, Managing Directors at First Reserve, commented, "We are pleased to partner with a world-class management team led by Randy Byers. As the largest testing, inspection and certification platform within the midstream and utility industries, Applied-Cleveland is an excellent strategic fit for First Reserve with our long history of supporting and growing businesses providing services to the energy infrastructure end-markets. We welcome the opportunity to partner with A-C in its next phase of growth and believe the company is positioned to be a key participant in the refurbishment and maintenance of significant energy infrastructure assets in North America over the coming years."

Randy Byers, CEO of A-C, commented "Applied-Cleveland has always been focused on providing high quality inspection services for our customers. We have successfully executed our business strategy over the last few years thanks to tireless work by our employees and loyal support from our customers. Since partnering with Nautic Partners in 2013, we have continued to execute on our business plan, and we thank them for the great support and guidance they have provided to us. We are looking forward to partnering with First Reserve who is an energy industry specialist with the resources and network which will allow us continue to expand our national footprint both organically and through acquisitions and maintain our industry-leading inspection services model."

"It has been a pleasure working with the A-C management team over the last 3 years," said Doug Hill, Managing Director at Nautic Partners. "The Company has developed into a leader in its inspection and testing markets by always focusing on putting its customers and employees first. That is a strong recipe for success, and we are confident the Company will continue to flourish with its new financial partners."

Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to A-C in this transaction. Transaction terms were not disclosed.

About Applied-Cleveland Holdings, Inc.
Applied-Cleveland Holdings, Inc. provides third party inspection services for the maintenance of oil and natural gas transmission, distribution, midstream and gathering lines, and other critical infrastructure. Other infrastructure includes refinery, power plant, compressor and pump stations, and mechanical integrity projects. A-C also offers complementary, specialized nondestructive and qualification services across the entire spectrum of the industry. For more information, please visit www.applied-cleveland.com.

About First Reserve
First Reserve is a leading global private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy. With over 30 years of industry insight, investment expertise and operational excellence, the Firm has cultivated an enduring network of global relationships and raised approximately USD $31 billion of aggregate capital since inception. Putting these to work, First Reserve has completed more than 575 transactions (including platform investments and add-on acquisitions), creating several notable energy companies throughout the Firm's history. Its portfolio companies operate on six continents, spanning the energy spectrum from upstream oil and gas to midstream and downstream, including resources, equipment and services and infrastructure. For more information, please visit www.firstreserve.com.

About Nautic Partners
Nautic is a middle-market private equity firm that focuses on three industries: healthcare, industrial products, and outsourced services. Nautic has completed 125 platform transactions throughout its 30-year history. Nautic's strategy is to partner with management teams to accelerate the growth trajectory of its portfolio companies via add-on acquisitions, targeted operating initiatives, and increased management team depth. Nautic generally makes equity investments of $25 to $100 million. For more information, please visit www.nautic.com.

For First Reserve media inquiries, please contact:
Jonathan Keehner / Julie Oakes
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
[email protected]
(212) 355-4449

SOURCE First Reserve