Lonsdale buys infrastructure consultancy Infrata

Wahida Ahmed
21 April 2022

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Lower mid-market GP Lonsdale Capital has acquired Infrata, a London-based infrastructure consultancy firm.

David Gasparro, partner at the sponsor, told Unquote the management team will be reinvesting in the business. He added that, with the GP's existing fund closed for new investments, it sought external financing for the deal.

Lonsdale plans to expand Infrata's presence in North America and continental Europe. The company will also seek to develop further existing products and add complementary segments particularly those focused on ESG, aviation and rail. Infrata will remain acquisitive under Lonsdale, which will back the company's plans to buy specialist consultancies, according to a press release. It has an active pipeline of bolt-on targets to increase its market share in rail, ESG, North America and Europe, Gasparro said.

According to him, the sponsor acquired the company in a sale process led by corporate finance adviser Equiteq, which had already advised a previous target of Lonsdale - P2 Consultancy, acquired in 2016. He added that the GP likes businesses with GBP 4m- GBP 7m EBITDA and Infrata "sits comfortably" in that range.

Lonsdale exited P2 Consultancy, a project management service provider, in December 2021, generating a 2.7x return to PE-backed Valcon. The deal marked the GP's fifth exit from its buyout fund, according to a press release.

Lonsdale Capital Partner held a final close in April 2016 on its target and hard-cap of GBP 110m, according to Unquote Data. According to Gasparro, the vehicle's investment period was closed last year. The GP has reinvested in Cross Rental Services on a deal-by-deal basis alongside private equity firm Elysian Capital in 2021.

Company
Infrata was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in London with offices in Spain, Canada and Columbia. It is an advisory firm to the financial services sector focused on commercial, ESG, economic and technical areas. According to its website, it has 30 active deals and is active across 20 countries. The business has around 40 consultants.

People
Lonsdale Capital Partners - David Gasparro (partner).
Infrata - Alonzo Guzman (managing director).

Advisers
Vendor - Equiteq (corporate finance).
Equity - Burness Paull (legal); Clearwater International (debt advisory); DunPort Capital Management (debt funding); Alvarez & Marsal (financial & tax due diligence); Grant Thornton (commercial due diligence); BDO (tax structuring); Willis Towers Watson (insurance due diligence).