Heritage Capital Group (“Heritage”) is pleased to announce the successful merger of Ellis & Associates, Inc. (“E&A”) and Engineering Consulting Services, Ltd. (“ECS”). E&A is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of ECS and a member of the ECS Group of Companies.
Established in 1970, E&A is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida with offices in Daytona, Florida and Brunswick, Georgia. Greg Edmonds acquired the firm in 1988 and has served as the company’s President and CEO. Michael Lithman joined E&A in 1986 as a geotechnical project engineer and became a partner in the firm in 1992. Michael has served as the COO and CFO since the late 1990’s. Under the continued leadership of Greg. Edmonds and Michael Lithman, E&A will continue to provide integrated engineering services support for land procurement throughout the development process. E&A specializes in geotechnical engineering; construction materials testing; environmental engineering; construction engineering and inspection (CEI); and special inspection services.
ECS, founded in 1988, is headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia. ECS is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm and has more than 1,300 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services. ECS currently has 50 locations and eight subsidiaries spread across the mid-Atlantic, southern, and midwestern states.
Bill Prescott, the Heritage principal that led the transaction, stated, “E&A, under Greg and Mike’s leadership, has grown into the leading engineering firm in northeast Florida for the markets that they serve. The merger is an opportunity for ECS to expand its geographic footprint in the Southeast and into new markets. We were pleased that E&A chose Heritage to assist them in finding the best cultural and professional fit for the company and its employees, and to realize the value for the company they built.”
Greg Edmonds of E&A commented, “What a great find in connecting with Bill Prescott and the folks at Heritage! When we decided to pursue my exit and the transition of the company, being the engineers we are, we exhaustively researched several groups that could assist us with the plans. We narrowed it down to two firms: Heritage, who came highly recommended from our CPA and our attorney, and a firm in the northeast who provides M&A services specifically for engineering and architectural firms. After working with the northeast firm in the preliminary process, we weren’t pleased with their plan, their approach, and, specifically, their valuation. We then began working with Bill and Don at Heritage Capital Group. What a pleasant surprise! Not only did Bill handle this transaction for us extremely professionally, efficiently, and doggedly- but we ended up with proceeds that were double what the previous group said we should expect. And now we have very good friends at Heritage. For such a huge life-changing experience and one I’ve worked for my entire professional career, I could not imagine a better outcome.”
Heritage Capital Group provides a range of investment banking services, including buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory work, business valuations, litigation support, exit planning, value enhancement and strategic advisory services, including restructuring and reorganization consulting. Heritage Capital Group is a FINRA regulated broker-dealer and the Florida headquarters of M&A International Inc., which extends its capabilities on a global scale.
