Congruex acquires excavation company to support network builds

BOULDER, Colo. and LEBANON, Ohio – Congruex, a national end-to-end provider of design, engineering, construction, and maintenance services to broadband providers, today announced the acquisition of Ohio Valley Excavating (OVE), a regional industry leader in commercial excavation. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004, OVE services the fiber telecommunications and utility industries with installation and maintenance for underground electrical, communications, pipe, and structural placements. OVE's full-service excavation capabilities span commercial and industrial construction as well as emergency repairs, with experience across the private and public sectors in Ohio and the Midwest.

The addition of OVE will enhance Congruex's service mix and leadership position in key Midwest markets, bring further expertise in the utility space, and bolster its workforce with additional field crews and management personnel. OVE founders and co-owners Lori and Eldon Hallows and Rade Vladicic will remain and serve as senior leaders of the organization.

Ohio Valley Excavating marks Congruex's seventh acquisition of 2021 and caps the platform's most active year of transactions to date, following Bartell & Associates, Mabeck, Viking Corp, Holborn Splicing, A&M Communications, and Matrix Engineering. Congruex has now completed 16 strategic acquisitions since establishing a partnership with Crestview Partners, a leading New York-based private equity firm with significant expertise in the cable, telecommunications, and business services industries. In 2017, funds managed by Crestview Partners, along with the Congruex leadership team, committed $200 million of equity to build out a new platform as part of what is expected to be a total investment of approximately $500 million. Collectively, these transactions have established Congruex as one of the largest telecom engineering and construction firms in the nation.

Congruex was advised by Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP. OVE was advised by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

Read the full announcement here.

Congruex