Austin, TX (November 16, 2023) – Evolution Strategy Partners (“Evolution”), a private equity firm focused on partnering with entrepreneurial-owned and operated essential businesses, is thrilled to announce the award of The M&A Advisor Private Equity Deal of the Year for the DiPonio Contracting partnership.

The Private Equity Deal of the Year award, presented by The M&A Advisor, honors the most remarkable transaction within the private equity sector for transactions under $25M.

“The award recipients represent the best in the mergers & acquisitions industry this past year and earned these honors by standing out in a group of extremely impressive finalists,” said Roger Aguinaldo, Founder and CEO of The M&A Advisor. “Ranging from large multi-billion dollar deals to lower middle market deals, we are recognizing the leading transactions, firms, and individuals that represent the highest levels of accomplishment.”

“We enjoy a productive collaboration with Evolution that started before the transaction and has only strengthened since Closing. It’s been a great – and fun – journey,” added Frank DiPonio, Founder of DiPonio Contracting. “This partnership has allowed me to take a step back and empower the next generation of leadership to propel the company even further forward.”

The recognition of winning the Private Equity Deal of the Year award serves as a testament to Evolution’s success in and focus on partnering with founders and operators of lower middle market companies to ensure their success beyond the closing of a transaction. With a track record of partnering with lower middle market companies, Evolution seeks to continue its success with additional partnerships and welcomes new opportunities.

DiPonio Contracting is a leading Detroit-based infrastructure maintenance and construction firm. The Company provides new and replacement upgrades to aging and existing water, wastewater, and storm sewer systems. The veteran team supports municipal, county and state customers as the primary Contractors across Michigan.

Evolution Strategy Partners, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a differentiated private equity firm with a unique approach to conducting business: It considers its portfolio companies as true partners, not purely investments. Evolution values and respects the people with whom they work and believes its value-added involvement is only beginning at the time a transaction closes. They stay engaged and empower company leaders to accelerate the true potential of their businesses. Evolution’s primary focus is on entrepreneur-owned businesses but it remains flexible to explore other opportunities where their knowledge and interests are aligned. Evolution targets industrial and commercial service businesses with under $75 million in revenue and select only a handful of new platform opportunities to pursue each year.

The M&A Advisor was founded in 1998 to offer insights and intelligence on M&A activities and has since been established as the premier global network of M&A, Turnaround and Finance professionals. Today, we have the privilege of presenting, recognizing the achievements of, and facilitating connections between the industry’s top performers throughout the world with a comprehensive range of services.