Summary
PURIS, LLC, a portfolio company of investment affiliates of J.F. Lehman & Company, announced on August 7, 2026 that it completed the acquisition of Amici Engineering Contractors, LLC. Amici, founded in 2019 with offices in Zephyrhills and Miami, specializes in complex pipeline construction, horizontal directional drilling, and related potable water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure work across Florida. PURIS positions the deal as augmenting its vertically integrated water infrastructure platform (CIPP, pipe bursting, spray lining, HDD, lead service line replacement, and related services).
What Happened
According to the PR Newswire release sourced to J.F. Lehman & Company, PURIS CEO Mick Fegan welcomed Amici for its engineering-led approach to complex underground projects in Florida. Amici co-founder Juan Barreneche (with partners Nelson Liberti and Christopher Lazzari) cited PURIS’ national reach and technological breadth as the rationale for joining. JFLCO Managing Director Kevin Vallès framed Amici’s self-perform and engineering capabilities as a fit for PURIS’ acquisition strategy. A&O Shearman advised PURIS/JFLCO; Akerman LLP advised Amici. Terms were not disclosed.
Why This Matters in Florida
Florida’s aging water, wastewater, and stormwater networks—and continued population-driven utility expansion—make underground specialty contractors strategically valuable. A PE-backed national platform absorbing a home-state self-perform underground contractor concentrates capability in trenchless rehab and new install scopes that municipalities and utilities increasingly need with less surface disruption. It also signals that Florida underground specialists remain attractive add-on targets for infrastructure platforms.
Why It Matters to Construction Businesses
For Florida specialty contractors adjacent to utilities, sitework, and underground, platform M&A changes who holds backlog relationships, bonding capacity, and geographic coverage. Competitors may face a better-capitalized peer; potential sellers get another proof point that Florida underground operators with engineering depth can attract institutional buyers. GCs and developers should expect shifting subcontractor ownership and possibly tighter integration of trenchless offerings on municipal and private utility packages.
Catha’s Take
Labeled analysis — not news reporting. Catha’s M&A role is relationship and introduction only. Amici→PURIS is a clean illustration of the Florida specialty-contractor roll-up pattern: strong local self-perform capability plus PE platform capital. Owners who have built differentiated underground or utility niches should treat this as market intel—not a pitch to sell tomorrow. If conversations about succession, partnership, or introductions are already on the table, Catha can help open warm relationships; Catha does not run auctions, set valuations, or act as transaction counsel. For non-sellers, the actionable takeaway is competitive: know who the platform players are in your trade and how their Florida footprint is changing bid dynamics.
What to Watch Next
- Whether PURIS announces further Florida underground or trenchless add-ons.
- Parallel Florida AEC/services roll-ups (e.g., Moss–Ellison building; Fortify Restoration–Beaches Construction structural restoration) for sector pattern confirmation.
- Municipal water/wastewater capital programs that pull HDD, CIPP, and pipeline self-perform capacity.
- How Amici’s Zephyrhills and Miami operations are branded and staffed post-close.
Sources
Primary factual source for the PURIS/Amici transaction is the J.F. Lehman / PR Newswire acquisition announcement. Amici/PURIS sites support background only. Moss–Ellison and Fortify–Beaches links are contextual parallel FL M&A examples, not sources for this transaction.
- prnewswire.com — https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/puris-announces-the-acquisition-of-amici-engineering-contractors-302845373.html
- company context referenced in release — https://www.puriscorp.com/
- parallel FL GC M&A context — https://www.constructiondive.com/news/moss-acquires-ellison-florida-builder/808910/
- parallel FL specialty roll-up context — https://fortifyrestoration.com/fortify-restoration-continues-statewide-growth-with-beaches-construction-partnership/
Related links
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