Lindsay Goldberg takes majority stake in Kleinfelder

Lindsay Goldberg acquired Kleinfelder from Wind Point Partners on 18 September 2023, in partnership with the management team. Oak Hill Advisors arranged the unitranche facility financing the purchase and was its largest lender. President and chief executive Louis Armstrong remained at the head of the company with his management team. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in San Diego, Kleinfelder provides the engineering studies preceding infrastructure construction and the testing accompanying it: analysing ground conditions before building, designing structures, supervising works, verifying that concrete and soils meet specification, and assessing and remediating contaminated sites. Its clients are transport authorities, water utilities, power companies and industrial operators. It employs close to 3,100 people across more than 105 offices in the United States, Canada and Australia. Work of this kind is awarded under framework agreements with public agencies that qualify their engineering consultants in advance, and a firm must hold professional licences in each state where it practises. Those licences and qualifications take years to accumulate, which is why consolidation proceeds by acquiring established firms rather than by opening offices. Wind Point Partners had acquired the business in 2018 alongside George Pierson, then chief executive, who became chairman the following year when Armstrong was promoted. Over five years the firm grew through six acquisitions alongside organic development, extending its coverage of the transport, water, power and environmental markets. Houlihan Lokey advised Kleinfelder as exclusive financial adviser, with Winston & Strawn as legal counsel and KPMG on financial due diligence, while AEC Advisors advised Lindsay Goldberg.