News

An investor group led by Bernhard Capital has acquired W.A. Chester from Exelon Corp. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Lanham, Maryland, W.A. Chester is a electrical contractor for installation, maintenance and repair of underground high voltage cable transmission and distribution systems.

PRESS RELEASE

BATON ROUGE, La., March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — A group of investors led by Bernhard Capital Partners Management, LP (“Bernhard Capital”), a services-focused private equity management firm, today announced that it has acquired W.A. Chester from Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

W.A. Chester began as the Henry Ihle Company, which was founded in Canada in the 1930’s, and has grown to become the industry-leading electrical contractor for installation, maintenance and repair of underground high voltage cable transmission and distribution systems. W.A. Chester primarily operates out of its headquarters in Lanham, MD and field offices in Washington, D.C. and Charles Town, WV, from which W.A. Chester executes projects nationwide. W.A. Chester became part of Exelon through the merger of Pepco Holdings, Inc. and Exelon Corporation in March 2016.

Through its newly formed T&D services platform, Bernhard Capital intends to deploy additional capital to add capabilities that will complement W.A. Chester’s leadership in underground transmission and distribution services. The W.A. Chester management team will be led by Frank Musick, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and COO. Robert Thompson, who currently serves as President and CEO, will retire on March 31st and will continue to support W.A Chester in an advisory capacity. W.A. Chester will continue to operate out of its Lanham, MD headquarters.

“We are thrilled to acquire W.A. Chester, which has established itself as a premier electrical contractor over the past 90 years,” said Ali Azad, Operating Partner at Bernhard Capital. “We look forward to working with W.A. Chester’s talented management team to drive their continued success as a premier transmission and distribution specialty contractor.”

“This transaction allows W.A. Chester to continue its focus on its core market of installation and maintenance of underground high-voltage transmission cable and underground distribution infrastructure for electric utilities,” said Ron DeGregorio, President, Exelon Power. “We look forward to W.A. Chester’s continued success under its new ownership.”

The transaction was finalized on February 28, 2018.

About W.A. Chester
W.A. Chester is the industry-leading electrical contractor for installation, maintenance and repair of underground high voltage cable transmission and distribution systems. W.A. Chester’s clients are the nation’s electric utility companies and independent power producers. W.A. Chester works throughout the United States and Canada and is one of three specialty contractors performing this type of work on a national basis. In addition to underground systems, W.A. Chester has expanded its services to include installation, maintenance and repair of overhead electric distribution cable systems.

About Bernhard Capital Partners
Bernhard Capital Partners (“Bernhard Capital”) is a services-focused private equity management firm established in 2013 by Jim Bernhard, Jeff Jenkins and a team of experienced private-equity professionals. Bernhard Capital seeks to create sustainable value by leveraging its founding partners’ experience in acquiring, operating and growing services businesses. From strategic industry insight to operational efficiencies and best-practice management, Bernhard Capital provides resources far beyond its investments. www.bernhardcapital.com

About Exelon
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is a Fortune 100 energy company with the largest number of utility customers in the U.S. Exelon does business in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada and had 2016 revenue of $31.4 billion. Exelon’s six utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to approximately 10 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania through its Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco subsidiaries. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with more than 35,500 megawatts of nuclear, gas, wind, solar and hydroelectric generating capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 2.2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Follow Exelon on Twitter @Exelon