CH2M HILL sells IT division to form Critigen

DENVER — In September, CH2M HILL sold the IT solutions division of its Enterprise Management Solutions (EMS) business to CRITIGEN, a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm with a strong focus on the IT industry. Critigen serves public- and private-sector clients, including government, state, local, large engineering firms, and financial institutions with technology-based approaches to support the delivery of essential services.

"The sale of our EMS business represents a strategic turning point for CH2M HILL," said Lee McIntire, CH2M HILL president and CEO. "We’ll continue to focus on our corporate strategy to become the world’s premier engineering, construction, and operations firm, and partner with CRITIGEN for expanded, best-in-class IT solutions that meet our clients’ requirements."

According to CRITIGEN CEO Jeff Akers, “Critigen is the catalyst to apply a new vision — one that will forever impact how we build and manage critical infrastructure. Critigen’s clients are also at the forefront of acute challenges including climate change, sustainable environmental and energy transformation, asset protection and management, and carbon reduction. Approaching these modern challenges within thought or technology silos will fail our cities and our citizenry. Critigen brings behaviorally relevant, holistic approaches that will comprehensively address our 21st century challenges.”

Critigen’s client roster touches every sector of critical infrastructure — energy, water, facilities, government, financial, commercial, transportation, and emergency response. Its nearly 700 global employees allow clients to visualize, collaborate, secure, and manage their information, the company said. Critigen claims that it is the world’s largest privately held geospatial consulting business and the market leader in collaboration methods to improve data use, interrelationships, and business processes by enhancing data management, community interactions, and business system integration.

Critigen’s clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force, as well as Genworth Financial, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and the world’s first carbon-neutral city, Masdar, located in the UAE. In addition, Critigen’s has a three-year preferred provider agreement with CH2M HILL, one of its largest clients.