Denver, CO – November 7, 2023 – Lumin8 Transportation Technologies (“Lumin8”), a portfolio company of Crest Rock Partners, today announced that it has acquired the Traffic Signal division of Watson Electrical Construction Co. LLC (“Watson Electrical” or “Watson”), a Wilson, North Carolina-based provider of electrical construction and maintenance services in North Carolina and Virginia. The transaction was structured as an asset divestiture from the parent company, Watson Electrical. This acquisition creates a combined Lumin8 organization of over 450 employees dedicated to providing intelligent transportation systems (“ITS”) and traffic-related services to government entities, agencies, and contractors nationwide. The assets and team of the Watson Traffic Signal division have been rebranded to Lumin8.
Lumin8 will support the Watson Traffic Signal team and management to improve operations and broaden their portfolio of solutions. With Lumin8’s existing operations in Western North Carolina, this addition more than doubles Lumin8’s presence in the state and enables full coverage for construction and maintenance activities from the mountains to the coast. Lumin8 looks forward to bringing its full suite of services and technology to current and future customers across North Carolina. “We are thrilled to welcome the Watson Traffic Signal employees to Lumin8 and work with them to enhance Lumin8’s capabilities in the east,” said Chuck Stein, CEO of Lumin8. “Watson has dutifully and effectively served its customers for decades, so the opportunity to work with these customers and partner with Watson’s highly experienced Traffic Signal team make this acquisition particularly exciting for everyone at Lumin8.”
“This acquisition will help us in our pursuit of becoming a leader of transportation and ITS construction and maintenance services across the state of North Carolina,” said Andrew Carlin, Vice President at Crest Rock. “North Carolina is a key growth state in the eastern market, and we look forward to helping the state invest in the next generation of transportation infrastructure.”
The acquisition of Watson’s Traffic Signal division is part of a broader buy-and-build strategy that Lumin8 first embarked upon in partnership with Crest Rock. Together with Crest Rock, Lumin8 continues to execute on its strategic vision and broaden its service offerings for departments of transportation, municipalities, and contractors around the United States.
About Watson Electrical
Founded in 1935, Watson Electrical is an electrical contractor providing commercial, energy, and multi-family construction and maintenance services. Based in Wilson, North Carolina, Watson serves general contractors, developers, and government entities across North Carolina and Virginia.
About Lumin8 Transportation Technologies
Lumin8 Transportation Technologies is a provider of services and technology relating to traffic and intelligent transportation systems. Lumin8 is headquartered in Arvada, Colorado with offices across the United States. Lumin8 has over 450 employees and serves customers throughout the mountain west, the southwest and the eastern United States, including large government entities, agencies, and national contractors. For more information, please visit www.lumin8.com.
About Crest Rock Partners
Crest Rock Partners is a Denver-based private equity firm focused on the lower middle market. Founded in 2019, the firm seeks investment opportunities where it can leverage its principals’ extensive operating and investing experience to help companies execute their strategic initiatives. Through the team’s completion of over 60 acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, and integrations, Crest Rock has developed a differentiated investment process and partnership approach, working with management, founders, and other shareholders to establish alignment and achieve mutual objectives. Crest Rock targets control investments across multiple industry verticals, including software, technology, IT services, tech-enabled business services, manufacturing, and industrial services with enterprise values ranging from $15 million to $150 million. For more information about Crest Rock, please visit www.crestrockpartners.com.