Private-equity firm picks up Huntington Ingalls unit

By Marjorie Censer / February 8, 2021 at 10:26 AM

Private-equity firm PMC Capital Partners said last week it has purchased UniversalPegasus International from Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Huntington Ingalls acquired UniversalPegasus in 2014 and quickly saw challenges as a result of a downturn in the oil and gas market.

In 2015, Mike Petters, HII's chief executive, said the "jury's still out" on the acquisition.

"I'm not one to say that this hasn't worked out," he said. "We have gone through a pretty healthy process of resizing that business, which is going to make it an even stronger business when the market comes back.”

But last year, the contractor announced it was selling the oil and gas business, and HII's chief financial officer said the unit was facing a “double whammy" between a downturn in the market and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement announcing the deal last week, Andy Green, who leads HII's technical solutions division, said PMC Capital "is a great new home for UniversalPegasus."

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