Using Equity Capital, Investors Are Extending The Lifeline
Limbach ultimately survived intact. For some $80 million, it was saved by a group of managers who refused to let go. Their financial white knight was a family-owned equity investor with plenty of cash and enough confidence that the contractor ultimately could return the financial favor to its backer.
Chastened by past investments in failed dot-coms and telecommunications ventures, equity investors now are prowling the more stable, if less exciting, ranks of construction. "Now that the hype is out of Internet firms, theyre looking at engineering and construction," says Paul Zofnass, president of EFCG Inc., a New York City-based industry financial management consultant. "Our industry is not growing at 20 to 30%, but its still growing."