Commonwealth Associates Receives Investment from New Mountain Capital and Appoints Dr. Hisham Mahmoud as Chairman of the Board

JACKSON, Mich. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Commonwealth Associates, Inc. (“Commonwealth” or the “Firm”), a leading pure-play power engineering firm, and New Mountain Capital, LLC (“New Mountain”), a leading growth-oriented investment firm, today announced a majority investment from funds managed by New Mountain to support the Firm’s continued growth amid increasing demand for electricity and investment in power infrastructure. Commonwealth also announced the appointment of Dr. Hisham Mahmoud to the role of Chairman of the Board. Dr. Mahmoud is an industry leader and Senior Advisor at New Mountain, where he plays a key role in shaping and supporting the infrastructure services investment strategy. Commonwealth’s leadership team and employees will retain a meaningful ownership stake in the Company.

With roots dating back to 1886, Commonwealth is one of the most respected brands in power engineering. The Firm provides highly specialized and differentiated advisory and engineering services to electric utilities. New Mountain has a long and successful track record investing in and scaling companies in the infrastructure services industry and, in partnership with leadership teams and Dr. Mahmoud, has built differentiated industry-leading organizations.

“Partnering with New Mountain and Dr. Mahmoud is an exciting next chapter for our Firm — a sentiment unanimously shared by our leadership team,” said Matthew Hales, President and Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth. “With the deep strategic resources and experience of New Mountain, we are well-positioned to accelerate our growth by expanding our scope, service offerings, and capabilities to meet the increasing demand from our clients and provide more growth opportunities for our people.”

“I am honored to partner with Matt and the Commonwealth leadership team to help shape and support the delivery of the Firm’s long-term strategy, while strengthening and building on its strong, differentiated culture,” said Dr. Mahmoud, Chairman of the Board of Commonwealth. “The power grid is undergoing a generational transformation, and Commonwealth’s expertise positions it at the center of that opportunity.”

Joe Walker and Lars Johansson, Managing Directors at New Mountain, added, “New Mountain developed a relationship with Commonwealth over many years as part of our long-standing sector effort in infrastructure services and engineering & consulting, and we are proud to partner with the leadership team. Commonwealth is an extraordinary company — a pure-play power engineering firm with a long and rich history of excellence, led by an exceptional team of engineers and professionals with deep relationships with the nation’s leading utilities. We look forward to supporting the Firm’s continued growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, to build a scaled and diversified platform in the industry.”

AEC Advisors served as financial advisor and Lawson & Weitzen, LLP served as legal counsel to Commonwealth. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to New Mountain.

About Commonwealth Associates
Commonwealth Associates is a leading pure-play power engineering firm with roots dating back to 1886. The Company provides high-quality engineering services across substation, transmission and distribution, and power generation infrastructure, serving a diversified, blue-chip base of investor-owned utilities and utility contractors. For more information, please visit https://www.cai-engr.com/.

About New Mountain Capital
New Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than excessive risk, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, strategic equity, credit, and net lease real estate funds with approximately $60 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies. For more information, please visit https://www.newmountaincapital.com/.