New Mountain Capital to take Aegion private in $963M deal

Affiliates of private equity firm New Mountain Capital LLC agreed to acquire construction and engineering firm Aegion Corp. in an approximately $963 million deal.

The deal will see Aegion become a privately held company.

The private equity firm's affiliates agreed to pay $26.00 per share in cash for all the outstanding common shares of Aegion, representing a premium of about 21% over Aegion's closing stock price of $21.45 on Feb. 12.

The deal will be financed through a combination of equity from affiliates of New Mountain and debt from Jefferies, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities.

The deal was unanimously approved by the board of Aegion and is expected to close in the second quarter, upon which the private equity firm will review its planned sale of the Energy Services segment.

Completion of the deal is subject to Aegion stockholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Aegion board recommended its stockholders approve the take-private transaction at a special meeting.

Charles Gordon, president and CEO of Aegion, will remain with the company through the completion of the transaction to ensure a smooth transition.

Centerview Partners LLC is financial adviser and Shearman & Sterling is the legal counsel to Aegion. Jefferies and Houlihan Lokey are financial advisers to New Mountain, and Ropes & Gray is serving as its legal counsel.