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Huron Capital’s Sunland Asphalt Gains Scale with the Acquisition of Ace Asphalt

Sunland and Ace expand services as operations are merged; strengthening the combined company’s industry position and expanding its geographic presence

DETROIT – March 8, 2021 – Huron Capital Partners LLC (“Huron Capital”), a prominent lower middle-market private equity firm, announced today that it has acquired ACE Asphalt of Arizona, Inc. (“Ace”) with plans to merge the company with its infrastructure services platform Sunland Asphalt & Construction, Inc. (“Sunland”), a leading asphalt producer and paving solutions provider based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Founded in 1966, Phoenix-based Ace provides parking lot maintenance & repair and comprehensive site development services for paved and concrete surfaces in five southwestern states: Arizona, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

“The entire Ace team is proud of the growth we have achieved over the past several years,” said Scott Phillips, President of Ace, who will remain with the combined company as President of the Western Division. “We are excited to continue that growth by joining forces with Sunland and creating what we believe to be one of the market leaders in our region.”

The combination of the two companies provides greater market stability and expands Sunland’s presence into two new states – Texas and Oklahoma. The management team of the combined company will draw on the strength and proven capabilities of executives from both companies.

Doug DeClusin, CEO of Sunland, will continue to serve as CEO and lead the integration of the two companies as they come together under the Sunland brand.

“We have always had tremendous respect for Ace’s team and the company’s capabilities,” DeClusin said. “This merger provides both companies with an exciting opportunity to diversify our markets and expand our services to a wide array of public and private customers. The combination of our infrastructure and services will prepare us to offer the most powerful and comprehensive suite of solutions available.”

The merger of Sunland and Ace also paves the way for the combined company to offer a greater range of services. New and existing customers will benefit from Ace’s slurry-sealing capabilities and Sunland’s chip-sealing expertise, as well as both companies’ state-of-the art equipment and similar service-oriented cultures.

“Given its fragmentation and strong secular tailwinds, infrastructure services is an area we’ve been targeting for several years.  We made our initial platform investment in Sunland earlier this year and could not be more pleased with the quick completion of this first acquisition,” said Huron Capital Managing Partner Jim Mahoney. “We are delighted to partner with Doug, Scott and their respective teams to build on the established momentum of both Sunland and Ace and leverage the market and financial strength of the combined companies going forward.”

About Huron Capital

Founded in Detroit in 1999, Huron Capital is an operationally focused private equity platform with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through our proprietary ExecFactor® buy-and-build investment model. We prefer complex situations where we can help companies reach their full potential by combining our operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. An early pioneer of the buy-and-build approach, Huron Capital has successfully established six private equity funds aggregating nearly $2.0 billion in committed capital and invested in over 200 companies, and our portfolio companies have employed over 11,000 people throughout North America. The Huron Capital buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron Capital targets both control and non-control equity stakes in fundamentally-sound companies that can benefit from the Firm’s operational approach to creating value. Huron Capital focuses on niche segments within the business services, consumer products & services and specialty industrials sectors. For more information, please visit: www.huroncapital.com.

About Sunland Asphalt

Since 1979, Sunland Asphalt & Construction, Inc. has completed projects across the country, ranging from parking lot maintenance to major highways. With offices in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, Sunland has grown from an asphalt maintenance company into a full-service general contractor.  The company offers an array of construction and maintenance services including asphalt repairs, crack sealing, sealcoating, chip seal, milling, pulverizing, reconstruction, paving, striping, earthwork and grading, as well as concrete, utility adjustments and underground wet utilities.

About ACE Asphalt

ACE Asphalt is a full-service asphalt and concrete maintenance company serving Arizona, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Ace was recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the US and voted by its customers as one of the top road and parking lot maintenance companies. The company focuses on providing very competitive pricing, long-lasting surfaces, and a trusted warranty. Licensed, bonded, and insured to cover virtually any sized project, Ace is specialized in maintenance and site development of commercial, industrial, retail, church & religious centers, hospital/health care, raceways, airports, homeowners associations, schools & educational facilities, and public works projects.

Certain information herein may contain forward-looking statements which are provided to assist the reader in understanding the beliefs and opinions with respect to future opportunities as perceived by Huron Capital and others quoted herein. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance in future periods to differ materially from any projections or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The issuer of these statements undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or estimates or opinions should change except as may be required by applicable securities laws.