SAM and New Mountain Capital announced that funds managed by New Mountain have made a majority investment in SAM. As part of the transaction, New Mountain acquired the ownership interest of Peak Rock Capital, which had been SAM’s majority investor since 2021.
Founded in 1994, SAM is an independent provider of mission-critical geospatial and inspection services for utility and critical infrastructure markets. The company serves sectors including utilities, transportation, and energy.
SAM provides an integrated suite of solutions spanning land-based and aerial surveying, subsurface utility engineering, asset inspection, and digital solutions. The company is differentiated by its national scale, technical breadth, proprietary technology, and long-tenured customer relationships.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, SAM employs more than 1,800 professionals. The company is also one of the largest nationwide employers of licensed surveyors.
SAM also announced the appointment of Dr. Hisham Mahmoud as chairman of the board. Mahmoud is a senior advisor at New Mountain and supports the firm’s infrastructure services investment strategy.
New Mountain said it has a long track record investing in and scaling companies across the infrastructure services industry. With New Mountain’s resources and operational experience, SAM is positioned to expand through talent development and recruitment, broader service offerings, geographic expansion, and strategic acquisitions.
The investment comes amid rising utility and infrastructure investment. New Mountain said SAM is also benefiting from secular growth in demand for mission-critical geospatial data and infrastructure solutions.
Guggenheim Securities and Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisors to SAM and Peak Rock Capital. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to SAM and Peak Rock.
EFCG Transaction Services and KippsDeSanto & Co. served as financial advisors to New Mountain. Ropes & Gray served as legal counsel to New Mountain.
New Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment firm focused on business building and growth. The firm manages private equity, strategic equity, credit, and net lease real estate funds with approximately $60 billion in assets under management.
KEY QUOTES:
“Partnering with New Mountain and Hisham is an exciting next chapter for our Company. The New Mountain team shares our values and commitment to our clients and employees who have built our firm, and they bring the resources and expertise to help us shape and deliver on our ambitious strategic plans.”
Chris Solomon, CEO of SAM
“New Mountain has had a multi-year focus on geospatial services as part of our long-standing sector effort in infrastructure services and technology, and we are proud to partner with SAM. We look forward to supporting the Company, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, in this next phase of growth.”
Joe Walker and Lars Johansson, Managing Directors at New Mountain Capital
“As an industry leader with differentiated end-to-end technology-enabled solutions, SAM is well positioned to expand its strategy and market reach, and to continue to innovate to reshape and elevate the standard for the industry. I am honored and excited to partner with Chris and SAM’s leadership team during this exciting next phase of the company’s long and successful journey.”
Dr. Hisham Mahmoud, Chairman of the Board at SAM
