Fusion Corporate Partners

Private Equity busines The Riverside Company has sold environmental consulting company ENTRIX to Australian professional services provider Cardno. It is Riverside’s first exit of 2010. The price was not disclosed, though Riverside said it had achieved a 2.8x gross cash-on-cash return on its investment.

ENTRIX provides environmental and natural resource management consulting services. The business was founded in 1984 and has 33 offices in 17 states and three countries. It serves over 1,000 clients each year on over 2,000 projects. During its seven-year holding period, Riverside  completed three add-on acquisitions:

• Northwest Economic Associates of Vancouver, Washington (January 2004)
• Water Resource Solutions of Cape Coral, Florida (February 2006)
• Biological Research Associates, LLC of Panama City, Florida (April 2007)

ENTRIX’s management team will remain in place under Cardno ownership.

“We’re proud of the work we’ve done to build ENTRIX into a bigger and better company with a leadership position in water and natural resource management and a national scope,” said Anne Hayes, Riverside Partner. “ENTRIX has a stellar management team that has driven the growth initiatives and the effective integration of acquisitions which were key to our strategic plan – to capitalize on ENTRIX’s strong brand and reputation to extend their services and geographic reach. This successful exit comes despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment, which is further evidence of the deep underlying value ENTRIX offers to its clients.”

Todd Williams, ENTRIX CEO said, “Partnering with Riverside has allowed us to position ENTRIX for stronger growth than the overall market. This opportunity exists due to our ability to provide practical solutions to the many complex challenges faced by our clients such as water scarcity, greenhouse gas emissions and land use conflicts. The diversification across markets and services creates a unique ability to serve a variety of customers.”

Harris Williams acted as the exclusive adviser to ENTRIX and Riverside on the transaction. Jones Day and Kirkland & Ellis provided general counsel to Riverside on the sale.

Location: ENTRIX – USA, Houston, Texas: Cardno – Brisbane, Australia

Ref: F231109-493