NV5 Global said Wednesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Dade Moeller and Associates, headquartered near the Hanford Site in Washington state. The deal is expected to become final today. Dade Moeller, founded in Richland in 1994, has held Hanford contracts since then and currently has employees working on many of Hanford’s major projects. It also has permanent offices in Gaithersburg, Md.; Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Las Vegas, Nev., and long-term project offices elsewhere. The company built its reputation on health physics, including radiation protection and nuclear safety analysis, but has expanded to offer other environmental health and safety services. The company’s peak employment of more than 300 employees was in approximately 2012 when it was providing services for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Since that project finished employment is back to about 150 people and the company has been looking for opportunities to grow, said CEO Matt Moeller. NV5 put Dade Moeller’s annual revenue at about $25 million.
Terms of the deal were not immediately released beyond a statement by NV5 that the acquisition will be made through a combination of cash and stock deals. NV5 is a Bechtel National subcontractor at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant construction project. It provides civil materials testing services, primarily slump and compression testing for concrete samples. The company notified the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that it expected to receive $41 million net from a public offering of stock shares. A portion of the proceeds could be used to acquire Dade Moeller, it told the SEC. Dickerson Wright, chairman of NV5, said in a statement that Dade Moeller will become NV5’s platform organization in its environmental health and safety business line. Dade Moeller will be instrumental to NV5’s growth, particularly in the federal and energy sectors, he said. NV5, based in Hollywood, Fla., provides engineering and consulting services in the areas of construction quality assurance, infrastructure, engineering and support services, energy, program management, and environmental solutions. It is a Bechtel National subcontractor at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant construction project.
Dade Moeller is expected to retain its name as an NV5 Global company and continue to be based in Richland. The company discussed a sale with NV5 two years ago, but the time was not right, Moeller said. Talks resumed in March and the deal moved forward quickly, with both companies sharing similar visions of “protecting people and the environment” and placing a high value on their employees, he said. Dade Moeller will be kept almost intact, and Moeller and other members of the leadership team will remain, he said. The acquisition by NV5 provides security for Dade Moeller employees and access to financial resources and new markets, he said. “We believe the distinct client profiles of NV5 and Dade Moeller will complement our combined organization,” he said.
