Copley Equity Partners with Management to Invest in LJB Inc.

BOSTON & MIAMISBURG, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Copley Equity Partners, LLC (“Copley Equity”), a private equity firm and family office headquartered in Boston, MA, today announced that it has partnered with the management team of a leading engineering services company, LJB Inc. (“LJB”), to acquire an equity interest in the firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1966, LJB is a leading provider of civil and structural engineering, fall protection engineering and consulting, transportation engineering and traffic safety consulting, geospatial and water resources services. Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, with more than 200 employees, LJB serves a wide variety of blue-chip clients across more than 40 states in end markets such as commercial, industrial, manufacturing, federal, state and local government, education, and healthcare.

Rod Sommer, Chief Executive Officer of LJB, said, “With strong employee engagement and deep customer relationships, LJB is proud of its core values of integrity, quality and service, as well as its impressive history of innovation. In planning for our firm’s future, the company sought a strategic, financial partner who could help us capitalize on significant organic and inorganic growth opportunities. We are very excited to partner with Copley Equity, which brings a strong track record of supporting the growth of middle-market companies.”

Peter Trovato, Managing Director of Copley Equity, said, “Copley is thrilled to partner with LJB. Clients choose LJB because of its unique technical expertise, responsive service, and the experience it has developed over 56 years. These strengths have made LJB a leading growth platform in the attractive engineering services market. We are excited to support LJB as it continues to expand into new geographies and broaden its existing service offerings through accretive M&A.”

Sean Sullivan, Vice President at Copley Equity, said, “Our investment in LJB is the culmination of a multi-year search for a partner in the engineering services space. Among the hundreds of opportunities we reviewed during that process, LJB was a clear standout. We look forward to working with LJB to identify and partner with similar industry-leading engineering services firms in the coming years.”

AEC Advisors LLC acted as transaction advisor to LJB Inc.

ABOUT LJB INC.

LJB Inc. is a national engineering firm (Ranked #432 on Engineering News-Record’s “2022 Top 500 Design Firms”) that specializes in transportation, civil and structural engineering, as well as geospatial, safety, health and environmental services. With its corporate office near Dayton, Ohio, the firm maintains offices throughout the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Gulf Coast and West Coast regions. LJB’s diverse staff hold professional engineering licenses in all 50 states, as well as several U.S. territories and Canadian provinces. www.ljbinc.com

ABOUT COPLEY EQUITY PARTNERS, LLC

Established in 2012, Copley is a private investment firm with offices in Boston and Denver. Copley focuses on partnering with growing, lower-middle market private companies. The firm invests out of an evergreen, single family office capital base and is comfortable in both majority and minority ownership positions. The firm makes investments across a broad range of sectors to help businesses fuel growth, manage risk, and create enduring value. www.copleyequity.com