As St. Louis-based commercial builder McCarthy Holdings celebrates its 150th anniversary, the company continued to grow with a significant acquisition, signing a letter of intent last week to acquire Castle Contracting, a civil-services company also based in St. Louis.
Scott Wittkop, central division president for McCarthy, told Midwest Real Estate News that a growing number of the company’s clients are asking for help with civil-engineering and infrastructure needs. The acquisition of Castle Contracting, which provides turnkey civil services, utility work, earthwork and trenchless technology, gives McCarthy another way to provide more value to its clients, Wittkop said.
“One of our strategic initiatives is to focus more on horizontal construction and infrastructure,” Wittkop said. “We have primarily been a hospital builder and an education builder. This acquisition gives us a chance to expand our portfolio of services.”
It helps, too, that McCarthy officials have worked often with Castle’s leadership team in the past.
“This is our first acquisition in 20 years,” Wittkop said. “Before making the move, we looked at both the possibility of new profits for us and the people at Castle. At the end of the day, you are buying the talents of the people coming over. I personally have known Castle’s leadership for 18, 19 years. Some of our folks have had relationships with Castle’s leadership that go back even longer than that. We knew what we were getting from the people side, and we liked what we were getting.”
Castle also brings new technology to McCarthy. The company is known for its 3D utility mapping powered by GPS technology.
Castle will become a subsidiary of McCarthy after the acquisition, which should close at the end of October. The company, though, will continue to operate as a stand-alone business under the Castle name. Mike Myers, a 13-year Castle veteran and its chief operating officer, will become vice president of operations reporting to Wittkop.
Terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.
Julie Ledbetter, founder of Castle, said that the move will prove beneficial to both her company and McCarthy.
“Out two companies share similar values and beliefs about our approach to building,” she said. “McCarthy’s leadership recognizes and appreciates that.”
