Jensen Hughes Acquires British Columbia-Based Fire Protection Engineering Firm CFT Engineering

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Nov 2, 2020

This strategic acquisition strengthens Jensen Hughes’ Vancouver foothold and expands capabilities to more broadly serve clients

BALTIMORE, November 2, 2020 – Jensen Hughes, a global leader in safety, security and risk-based engineering and consulting, announced today its acquisition of CFT Engineering, a top fire protection engineering and building code consulting firm in British Columbia, Canada.

CFT Engineering was founded in 1992. Its five principals, Brad Walton, Michael Linton, Robert Heikkila, Emilia Mazzonna and Samir Eidnani, will remain with the business. Walton has served as CEO and, with his team, grown CFT to 26 employees and increased revenue year over year. The company is well-known in the Western Canadian architecture, engineering and construction industry, with CFT providing their core services to many of the major construction projects in the province over the last 20 years.

“CFT has long been on our radar, especially since many of our team members share the same fire protection engineering heritage and have known each other for decades. We are thrilled we were able to make this happen, as it accelerates the strategies for both businesses and allows us to provide the market with the strongest team of fire protection engineers,” says Raj Arora, CEO, Jensen Hughes.

This will mark the second acquisition in 2020 for Jensen Hughes, a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors. Over the last several years, the company has made a number of investments in prominent fire protection engineering firms worldwide, in markets such as the UK, Ireland, Finland and Korea.

“We are proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish as CFT Engineering and the reputation we’ve built for the company. This is an exciting new partnership for all of us as our scale and depth of expertise will allow us to bring the best of both companies to clients in British Columbia and beyond, and makes our office a very attractive place to work for top talent,” says Brad Walton, CEO, CFT Engineering.

For more information, visit jensenhughes.com or cftengineering.com.

About Jensen Hughes

Jensen Hughes is a global leader in safety, security and risk-based engineering and consulting. Every day, a team of 1,400+ engineers, consultants and scientists develop and deliver innovative and cost-effective solutions to a global client base involving fire protection systems design and analysis, code consulting, emergency management services, security consulting, forensic engineering, fire research, risk-informed applications, probabilistic risk assessments, development and testing, commissioning and construction services. Operating from 90+ offices throughout the world, Jensen Hughes consulting teams have delivered more than 40,000 projects in all markets across industries. Jensen Hughes is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management teams. For more information, visit www.jensenhughes.com.

About CFT Engineering, Inc.

CFT Engineering Inc. was established in 1992 to provide professional Fire Protection Engineering, Building Code Consulting & Certified Professional services to architects, building owners, law firms, insurance underwriters, developers, industry & government agencies. For more information, visit www.cftengineering.com.

About Gryphon Investors

Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. The firm has managed over $5 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $100 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise. For more information, visit www.gryphoninvestors.com