Trill Impact invests in Infrakraft Sverige

Trill Impact acquired a minority interest in Infrakraft Sverige on 2 September 2022, at an enterprise value of SEK 1–10bn representing an EV/EBITDA multiple of 10x–18x on the twelve months to August. The co-founders Daniel Pettersson and Joel Skönvall, the management team and several key employees retained the majority and their positions, Pettersson continuing as chief executive. Clearwater had conducted a sale process during the spring. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Karlstad, Infrakraft builds and renews railway infrastructure in Sweden: track, overhead catenary, signalling and the earthworks beneath them, alongside roads, tunnels and groundworks. It takes on complete projects for the public authorities commissioning them, coordinating the disciplines each requires. Revenue reached SEK 1–10bn in 2021 with an EBITDA of SEK 100–200M, and approximately 1.9 billion kronor over the twelve months to August 2022. Swedish railway infrastructure requires substantial renewal, much of the track and signalling having been laid decades ago, while demand for rail travel has risen as the country pursues a reduction of transport emissions of 70% by 2030 and net zero by 2045. That combination has produced a programme of public investment extending years ahead. Railway work separates itself from general civil engineering by its constraints. Track can only be worked on when trains are not running, which confines most of it to night possessions of a few hours, and signalling and electrification each require certified personnel. A contractor capable of coordinating all of it on a single contract is preferred by an authority that would otherwise manage several. The company had grown rapidly since its foundation four years earlier, and Trill Impact intended to support expansion into neighbouring countries and into adjacent infrastructure activities, alongside the development of the organisation. It was the firm’s seventh mid-market investment.