BaseRock Partners is pleased to announce the sale of K&E Excavating, Inc. (“K&E”) to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). BaseRock Partners (“BaseRock”) served as the exclusive financial advisor to K&E throughout this process.
Founded in 1998 in Salem, Oregon, K&E Excavating began as a small, family-owned excavation and grading contractor. Over the past 28 years, the company has grown into a full-service civil construction firm, expanding its capabilities to include underground utilities, highway and bridge construction, paving, concrete, rock crushing, and airport construction.
K&E now operates across Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, and employs more than 400 people, all of whom are now owners in the company through the ESOP.
“Pursuing an ESOP allowed us to protect what we built over the last 28 years. Our employees are the reason K&E has grown from a small excavation crew into a company that serves the entire Pacific Northwest, and this transition ensures they share directly in that success. Selling to an outside buyer couldn’t guarantee our culture or our commitment to our communities would be carried forward. Transitioning ownership to our people did, and we are very proud to be able to do this for our employees, because essentially, they (the employees) got us to where we are at,” said Kerry D. Kuenzi, President of K&E Excavating.
“BaseRock Partners was incredible. The knowledge, timeliness, quality, and accuracy were phenomenal. They took us through a complicated process and made us feel comfortable with every step, delivering on every timeline they set. Their expertise, professionalism, and reputation showed throughout the entire process. They were an absolute joy to work with from start to finish,” said Kuenzi.
