USIC

OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, acquired a controlling stake in USIC in November 2023. The firm was previously owned by Partners Group, which had taken it private in 2017. USIC's management team retained a significant minority position in the transaction, ensuring operational continuity.

USIC earns on a per-locate basis under multi-year contracts with utility and telecom operators. The demand is legally mandated — every U.S. state has a 'call before you dig' law requiring underground lines to be marked before excavation. This regulatory requirement plus ongoing fiber-to-the-home investment creates a highly recurring, non-discretionary revenue stream.

USIC competes for service contracts through state-level utility programs and directly with large network operators. Its national scale — over 10,000 technicians across all 50 states — lets it offer single-contract, consolidated service that regional competitors cannot. Many contracts renew through RFP processes where incumbency and safety metrics carry significant weight.

While fiber deployment accelerates locate volumes, USIC's baseline business is maintaining existing underground infrastructure, not just building new lines. Gas and electric distribution locate requests are stable year-to-year, creating a floor of demand independent of new capex cycles. The firm's direct exposure is more to excavation and construction activity broadly than to any single operator's budget.

No. USIC is a pure-play operating company that provides infrastructure services. It was owned by private equity firms and is now controlled by a pension infrastructure fund, but it does not invest in outside funds or manage third-party capital. All capital deployment goes into fleet, training, and geographic expansion.