ATIS Agrees to Acquire Inspection Portfolio of Lerch Bates Inc.
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Company executives announced today that global consulting services firm Lerch Bates Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement with leading inspection company American Testing and Inspection Services (ATIS). Under the agreement, Lerch Bates will divest the Elevator Inspection Portfolio of Lerch Bates Inspection Services (LBIS) its unit dedicated to government-mandated elevator inspections, in a merger with ATIS. The merged Inspection enterprise will operate under the ATIS name, and the transaction is expected to close by year end.
"This is great news for our customers and employees," said ATIS President and CEO Chip Smith. "Our customers will continue to enjoy a superior level of service, and have access to our enhanced, nationwide network of best-in-class inspectors. Customers and employees alike will benefit from expanded investments in support resources resulting from our added scale."
"Our agreement with ATIS allows Lerch Bates to further dedicate ourselves to the deep consulting partnerships we value with our clients, while ensuring that they continue to receive seamless service across every level of their needs," said Lerch Bates Chief Executive Officer Bart Stephan.
Lerch Bates and ATIS have a long history of collaboration and will maintain a strategic relationship. Lerch Bates will exclusively enlist ATIS for its clients' code-required elevator inspection needs, while ATIS will offer expanded opportunities for its customers to take advantage of Lerch Bates' unrivaled consulting services.
Furthermore, with the merger agreement, Lerch Bates will hold a minority ownership stake in ATIS, while Cequel III, a St. Louis based investment and management firm led by Jerry Kent, will continue as ATIS' majority owner. All other Lerch Bates divisions will continue to be fully owned and operated by Lerch Bates, including the inspection operations of Joseph Neto & Associates in New York City. Financial terms of the merger agreement were not disclosed.