Hoffman Southwest Corp. Partners with B. Riley & Co. to Grow its Professional Pipe Services Division

MISSION VIEJO, Calif., Aug. 28, 2017 -- Professional Pipe Services (Pro-Pipe), a leader in underground pipeline condition assessment and repair, has retained B. Riley & Co. as its financial advisor to provide buy-side advisory services in accordance with the company’s plan to grow its presence in North America.

Pro-Pipe is a division of Mission Viejo, CA-based Hoffman Southwest Corp. (HSW). Pro-Pipe currently operates nine branches located in the western United States, with plans to expand its geographic footprint through a combination of organic growth and select acquisition opportunities. Pro-Pipe serves municipalities, contractors, engineers, government agencies, facility owners, and natural gas and other utility providers with state-of-the-art closed circuit television (CCTV) inspection services. These services range from optical condition assessment of manholes and geographic information system integrations, to CCTV lateral launch systems for mainline and lateral inspections, laser profiling for collecting survey data, and pipeline report creation. Pro-Pipe also has a large and growing cross-bore practice that assists municipalities and utility companies in identifying potential compromises caused by boring utilities through sewage pipes.

HSW was acquired in January 2017 by ORIX Capital Partners, a New York-based growth-oriented private equity firm.  HSW’s executive management team, including Mark Burel, Rick Smith and Bruce Lux, lead daily operations and provide strategic direction alongside ORIX Capital Partners.

“We look forward to partnering with B. Riley on a proactive buy-side M&A strategy that complements our long-term strategic vision of HSW becoming the nation’s largest provider of residential, commercial and municipal water and sewer inspection, repair and support,” said Burel, HSW’S CEO. “HSW’s partnership with ORIX Capital Partners provides Pro-Pipe with a well-capitalized balance sheet to pursue value-added acquisition opportunities throughout North America that align with our goal to become the nation’s leader in underground assessment, maintenance and repair.”

B. Riley’s engagement team will be led by Senior Managing Director Greg Presson and Director Chris Ankley. The investment banking firm routinely provides acquisition advisory services to corporations and private equity funds within select industry sectors.

About Hoffman Southwest Corp. Hoffman Southwest Corp. (“HSW”) is a leading provider of water flow solutions services. Its Professional Pipe Services (Pro-Pipe) division is a leader in underground pipeline condition assessment and repair, providing state-of-the-art closed circuit television (CCTV) inspection services, including video inspection, underground mapping, cleaning and rehabilitating sewage pipelines for municipalities, contractors, engineers, government agencies, facility owners, homeowners and natural gas providers in the western United States. For more information, visit http://www.pro-pipe.com.

HSW is also the nation’s largest franchisee of Roto-Rooter®, the leading provider of plumbing and drain cleaning services in North America. Today, HSW operates 12 Roto-Rooter® branches in California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Texas. For more information about Roto-Rooter®, visit http://www.myrotorooter.com/

About ORIX Capital Partners LLC
ORIX Capital Partners LLC, formerly known as IX Capital Partners, is a wholly owned subsidiary of ORIX USA Corporation. It sponsors direct equity investments to support growth and performance among established middle-market companies throughout North America, spanning a variety of industries including infrastructure services, business services and industrials. For more information on ORIX Capital Partners, visit www.orixcapitalpartners.com.

About ORIX USA Corporation Since 1981, ORIX USA has provided innovative capital solutions that clients need to propel their business to the next level. Based in Dallas, ORIX USA has a team of more than 700 employees spanning nearly 20 offices across the U.S. and Brazil. ORIX USA and its family of companies offer investment capital and asset management services to clients in the corporate, real estate, municipal and energy sectors, while holding $6 billion of assets and managing an additional $29 billion, approximately. Its parent company, ORIX Corporation, is a Tokyo-based, publicly owned international financial services company with operations in 37 countries and regions worldwide. ORIX Corporation is listed on the Tokyo (8591) and New York Stock Exchanges (IX). For more information on ORIX USA, visit www.orix.com.

About B. Riley & Co., LLC B. Riley & Co., LLC is a leading investment bank which provides corporate finance, research and sales and trading to corporate, institutional and high net worth individual clients. Investment banking services include initial, secondary and follow-on offerings, institutional private placements and merger and acquisitions advisory services. The firm is nationally recognized for its highly ranked proprietary equity research. B. Riley & Co., LLC is a member of FINRA and SIPC.

B. Riley Financial, Inc. is a publicly traded, diversified financial services company which takes a collaborative approach to the capital raising and financial advisory needs of public and private companies and high net worth individuals. The Company operates through several wholly-owned subsidiaries, including B. Riley & Co., LLC, FBR Capital Markets & Co., Wunderlich Securities, Inc., Great American Group, LLC, B. Riley Capital Management, LLC (which includes B. Riley Asset Management, B. Riley Wealth Management, and Great American Capital Partners, LLC) and B. Riley Principal Investments, a group that makes proprietary investments in other businesses, such as the acquisition of United Online, Inc.

Media Contact
Greg Presson
P: 949.250.5500
C: 949.300.9638
[email protected]

Chris Ankley
P: 949.250.5507
C: 949.500.8096
[email protected]