Wind Point Partners Announces Sale of Kleinfelder To Lindsay Goldberg
Chicago, Ill., September 19, 2023 – Wind Point Partners (“Wind Point”), a Chicago-based private equity firm, announced today it has sold portfolio company The Kleinfelder Group, Inc. (“Kleinfelder” or the “Company”) to Lindsay Goldberg, a New York-based private equity firm.
Based in California, Kleinfelder is an engineering, construction management, design and environmental professional services firm. The Company, given its scale and breadth of services, is uniquely positioned to serve a diverse base of customers across the Power, Transportation, Water and Environmental end markets throughout the United States.
Wind Point acquired Kleinfelder in 2018 in partnership with then CEO George Pierson, a longtime industry veteran and member of Wind Point’s Executive Advisor Partner (“EAP”) program. Mr. Pierson moved to Board Chair in 2019, and elevated Louis Armstrong from President to CEO. Under Wind Point’s ownership and the leadership of Kleinfelder’s management team, the Company was transformed into a diverse, growth-oriented platform of unique scale and technical expertise, with 3,200 employees in 110 offices across the U.S. Since Wind Point’s acquisition, Kleinfelder’s growth was driven by a combination of organic growth, six strategic add-on acquisitions and internal continuous improvement initiatives that increased efficiency.
Nathan Brown, Managing Director at Wind Point, noted, “Kleinfelder is an excellent example of Wind Point’s strategy at work, with a focus on executing the value creation plan through a mix of both organic and acquired growth. Louis proved to be an excellent fit to lead the business and he and his team did an outstanding job investing in the right people, processes and capabilities to execute on the value creation plan. We are thankful to the entire Kleinfelder team for helping us deliver a strong outcome for our investors and we wish them continued success alongside new ownership.”
“I would like to thank Wind Point for their partnership over the last five years,” stated Louis Armstrong, President and CEO of Kleinfelder. “Together, we have elevated Kleinfelder to new heights and positioned the Company’s employees, clients and stakeholders for future success.”
Wind Point is an active investor in engineering and professional services businesses, with select prior and current investments including Vertex, Pavion and RailWorks.
Representing Kleinfelder in the transaction was Houlihan Lokey as exclusive financial advisor. Winston & Strawn LLP acted as legal advisor. KPMG provided financial due diligence support.