Moelis Capital Partners (“MCP”) today announced the sale of Uintah Engineering & Land Surveying (“UELS”), a leading provider of surveying, drafting and engineering services to the upstream and midstream oil and gas industry, to Norwest Equity Partners (“NEP”). NEP’s ownership provides UELS with a strong platform for continued growth as an industry-leading franchise. Terms of the transaction, which closed on August 26, 2014, were not disclosed.
Founded in 1964, UELS is one of the largest providers of land surveying, drafting and civil engineering services for the oil and gas industry in the U.S. With a staff of over 200 employees across 10 regional offices, UELS specializes in the layout and design of well locations, roads, pipelines, evaporation ponds, compressor sites and all related facilities.
Joel Killion, MCP Partner, said, “This transaction is a great outcome for both MCP and UELS. We are pleased to have had such a successful partnership with management, which firmly established UELS as the clear industry leader. We wish the UELS team all the best as they partner with NEP in the next phase of their growth.”
“With MCP as our partner, we have built a company with a strong franchise, anchored by a compelling customer value proposition, and impressive market share,” said Tracy Henline, CEO of UELS. “We are grateful for their help in shaping our strategy and building our organization and are proud of the growth we have achieved together over the past three years.”
Kurt Larsen, MCP Managing Partner, added, “It has been a pleasure working with Tracy and his team and assisting them with the company’s rapid expansion, having significantly grown its geographic footprint and more than doubled its workforce over our investment period. We are delighted to have been a part of this dynamic company.”
William Blair & Company and Moelis & Company advised UELS, while Parr Brown Gee & Loveless provided legal counsel.