MidOcean Partners Provides Structured Capital to Fund the Growth of GridHawk, a Premier Provider of Utility Damage Prevention Services

Marks the Inaugural Investment from MidOcean’s Structured Capital Solutions Platform

MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a premier New York-based alternative asset manager specializing in middle-market private equity, structured capital, and alternative credit investments, today announced it has made a preferred equity investment in GridHawk Holdings (“GridHawk” or the “Company”), a premier provider of damage prevention services for critical utility infrastructure across the U.S. MidOcean’s non-control growth capital investment will provide GridHawk with the resources to further expand its service offering and geographic footprint while continuing to provide the highest quality service to its customers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MidOcean’s investment in GridHawk is the firm’s first investment from its newly launched Structured Capital Solutions strategy. The Structured Capital Solutions strategy combines the sector expertise, thematic focus, and operating advisor network of MidOcean’s private equity platform with the structuring and pricing discipline of MidOcean’s alternative credit business to deliver creative financing solutions and non-control capital to middle-market companies.

"We are extremely pleased to be partnering with GridHawk and Cascata on the first transaction in our new strategy targeting structured capital investments. GridHawk's strong organic growth, stable business model, and relentless focus on customer service are emblematic qualities of the kinds of businesses in which we seek to invest," said Graham Clempson, Vice Chairman of MidOcean Partners.

“Having followed GridHawk for some time as part of our utility services investment thematic, we have been consistently impressed with the Company’s leadership team and differentiated service model. Their understanding of customer pain points and crisp execution ability position them well to be the provider of choice in the future,” added Eric Roth, Managing Director at MidOcean Partners.

Founded in 2019 by industry veteran Paul Baugher, in partnership with independent sponsor Cascata Capital, GridHawk offers utility locating, watch & protect, advanced locating, leak detection, infrastructure mapping, and other damage prevention services for high consequence subsurface infrastructure including natural gas, electric, telecom, water, and sewer utilities nationwide. GridHawk’s leading position in the damage prevention industry is underpinned by its customer-centric approach and training geared towards improving locate accuracy and on time performance to decrease damage rates. The Company currently serves 19 states under two brands, GridHawk and LineQuest.

Mr. Baugher, co-founder and CEO of GridHawk, commented, “Since day one, our strategy has been dedicated to delivering superior performance for our customers. We carefully select contracts that align with our ability to maintain our core values. Partnering with MidOcean allows us to enhance our capabilities through strategic investments, ensuring we continue to meet and exceed our customers’ evolving needs.”

Chris Cuzalina, co-founder of GridHawk and Managing Partner of Cascata Capital, added, “GridHawk has experienced significant growth since its inception, becoming one of the top five providers of damage prevention services in the U.S. MidOcean’s flexible structured capital solution and strong belief in our industry and business model made them an ideal non-control partner to support our ongoing growth.”

BMO provided senior debt financing in conjunction with the recapitalization. Solomon Partners advised GridHawk on the transactions.

About MidOcean Partners

MidOcean Partners is a premier New York-based alternative asset manager specializing in middle-market private equity, structured capital, and alternative credit investments. Since its inception in 2003, MidOcean Private Equity has targeted investments in high-quality middle-market companies in the consumer and business services sectors. MidOcean Credit Partners was launched in 2009 and currently manages a series of alternative credit strategies, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), and customized separately managed accounts.

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