Houlihan Lokey Advises CHA Consulting

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the sale of CHA Consulting (CHA), a portfolio company of First Reserve, to H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.). The transaction closed on January 19, 2024.

CHA is an innovative, full-service engineering, design, consulting, and program management firm providing a wide range of technology-enhanced services to public, private, and institutional clients. CHA is focused on delivering sustainable, integrated solutions to the world’s most challenging infrastructure projects across utilities, transportation, water, and other critical commercial and industrial end markets. CHA was ranked the 69th largest engineering firm in the U.S. in 2023 by ENR, with approximately 1,800 employees and 50 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.

First Reserve is a leading global private equity firm. Founded in 1983, it has nearly 40 years of industry insight and has cultivated a network of global relationships. First Reserve has raised more than $33 billion of aggregate capital since inception. Its investment and operational experience have been built from over 750 transactions—including platform investments and add-on acquisitions—on six continents. The firm’s portfolio companies have operated globally in more than 60 countries and span the entire energy and industrial spectrum.

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management. Based in Miami, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco—as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai—H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle-market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion.

Houlihan Lokey served as the lead financial advisor and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on behalf of CHA and First Reserve. This deal exemplifies the continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s leading coverage of the engineering and infrastructure services sector and the continued strength of the firm’s relationship with CHA, having represented CHA on its sale to First Reserve in 2018.