19/09/2024

Meta Engineering joins Quadrante to create one of the largest engineering firms in the Iberian Peninsula

  • The new group, with a significant presence across Europe, the United States, Africa, and Latin America, will exceed a turnover of 100 million euros in 2024 with a workforce of more than 1,000 professionals.

Barcelona/Madrid, September 19, 2024 – Meta Engineering, a leading group in consultancy and engineering services for sustainable mobility and renewable energy, announces its strategic alliance with Quadrante, a Portuguese multidisciplinary engineering, architecture, digitalization, environment, and sustainability consultancy and design firm.

This alliance marks a milestone in the sector by combining and complementing the capabilities of both firms to form one of the most important engineering groups in the Iberian market. The union, which also includes the renewable energy engineering firm Izharia, integrated into Meta Engineering since 2022, reflects the shared commitment of both companies to expand their international presence and strengthen their technical capacity to undertake large-scale international projects, with a special focus on Europe and the United States. With this integration, the new group will close the fiscal year 2024 with estimated sales exceeding 100 million euros and a workforce of 1,100 employees, planning to achieve significant growth in the coming years.

Enric Font, the current CEO of Meta Engineering, will join the new group as a shareholder and will continue in an executive role. At the same time, part of Meta Engineering’s management team will become part of the new group’s leadership structure, ensuring solid governance by integrating the experience and vision of the executives from both companies.

The union between Quadrante and Meta will not only double the current group’s size, but also enhance its technical capabilities and geographical reach. The alliance will allow them to offer their clients an even wider range of high-quality services characterized by proximity and flexibility.

The management teams of both companies will integrate into a single group, providing a more global vision and strengthening the leadership of the new entity in strategic markets such as Central Europe, North America, and Latin America. This union of forces positions the new group as a reference in engineering and architecture on an international level, with the capacity to tackle projects of great complexity and scale.

Furthermore, this integration opens new opportunities for the employees of both firms by offering more dynamic professional growth, the possibility to develop international careers, and the chance to contribute to infrastructure projects that will drive a more sustainable future.

The final closing of the transaction, advised by Deloitte and Bird & Bird on behalf of the buyers Henko Partners and Quadrante, and by JB Capital, KPMG, and Cuatrecasas on behalf of the sellers of Meta Engineering, is expected to take place in October once the standard conditions precedent for such transactions are met.

“The union of forces between Quadrante and Meta represents a tremendous mutual reinforcement of competencies and a geographical complementarity that positions us as one of the main players in the Iberian sector. In a time of global economic transformation, this union accelerates our strategy of international expansion and our commitment to sustainability in the various sectors and markets in which we operate”, states Nuno Costa, CEO of the Quadrante Group.

“The strategic alliance between Meta Engineering and Quadrante drastically increases our international presence, expanding to 23 countries. This will undoubtedly help us position ourselves as a reference in sustainable mobility and energy in more markets. Together, we will not only strengthen our presence in key markets but also gain size, technical, and operational capacity, allowing us to access larger projects and undertake new acquisitions”, adds Enric Font, CEO of Meta Engineering.

With energy transition, positive mobility, and sustainable cities as key drivers, the new group plays a crucial role in achieving the United Nations Development Goals, which require a profound transformation of existing infrastructures.

About Quadrante

Quadrante is a leading engineering firm in the Portuguese market with 25 years of history. It began its sectoral consolidation strategy in 2012 with the acquisition of Procesl and more recently with the acquisition of the sustainability consultancy 3Drivers. The company has been expanding its business internationally and currently has offices in Brazil, Chile, and Romania. In 2023, Henko Partners joined as a strategic partner, bringing a holistic global vision to the critical infrastructure sector. Quadrante operates through an integrated and evolving approach to sustainability in three major sectors: Energy, Mobility, and Sustainable Cities.

Present in 12 countries and three continents, Quadrante aims to make a positive impact on the planet through an innovative and pioneering approach in the sectors in which it operates. It currently develops major infrastructure projects such as a new metro line in Porto (Portugal), a lithium battery gigafactory in Sines (Portugal), the new Kano-Maradi railway line (Nigeria), the Rio Maior and Torre Bela photovoltaic solar plant (Portugal), and the Abidjan drainage plan for climate change adaptation (Ivory Coast), among many other projects.

About Meta

Meta is a Spanish company with over 45 years of experience in the consultancy and engineering sector. Throughout its history, it has consolidated its position in sustainable mobility thanks to its great specialization in railway infrastructure. Since its founding, Meta Engineering has maintained a strong commitment to technical quality, allowing it to offer highly personalized engineering services throughout the entire project lifecycle.

In 2022, Meta Engineering further strengthened its strategic positioning in sustainability by acquiring a majority stake in Izharia Engineering, one of the leading engineering consultancies in Spain in the field of energy generation, transport, and distribution.

Its dedication to environmental care has made Meta Engineering a reference in sustainable mobility and renewable energy generation, actively contributing to creating a greener and more sustainable future.

Among Meta Engineering’s most emblematic projects are Line 9 of the Barcelona metro, where it has been developing multiple design and construction supervision contracts since the beginning; the supervision of the Mexico-Toluca interurban railway; the Bracons tunnel project and supervision; and the more than 10 years of infrastructure works supervision at the Port of Barcelona.

In the energy field, Izharia is a reference provider for the main Spanish energy groups, with extensive experience of 11 GW of renewable energy projects, 5,000 km of power lines, and 4,000 substations.


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Atrás

· Private equity experience across Spain, Portugal, UK and Germany.

 

· Previously partner at Sherpa Capital, Spanish Private Equity with > €350m of assets under management (2020) focused on SMEs in Spain and Portugal.

 

· Partner at DPE Deutsche Private Equity, private equity fund targeting SMEs with €1.2bn of assets under management (2017).

 

· Morgan Stanley Capital Partners.

 

· MPA Harvard University, BSc from LSE London School of Economics.

Lars Becker

Partner

· Former EY Strategy and Transactions Analyst, providing corporate finance solutions in strategic advisory, valuation, m&a, financial restructuring and due diligence.

 

· Previous experience at UBS and Deutsche Bank.

 

· Master in Finance from IE Business School.

 

· Double degree in Business Administration and Actuarial Science from URJC.

Daniel Largo
Analyst

· Previously Investment Associate at Sherpa Capital.

 

· Previous experience at BBVA and Amazon.

 

· Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering from ICAI (Universidad Pontificia Comillas)

Pablo Fernández
Associate

· Extensive experience in finance and management control.

 

· Previous experience as CFO and Client Operations Director at Jones Lang Lasalle, Bouygues and Carrefour, proven ability to implement action plans and process reengineering to improve the company performances.

 

· Degree in Business Administration from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and MBA by IE.

Vanesa Valentín
CFO

· João has a strong background in M&A advisory services in the Portuguese and Spanish markets.

 

· João started his career at KPMG Portugal providing corporate finance and M&A advisory services and he has also worked at Alantra´s Credit Portfolio Advisory division. 


· João has a MSc in Management and Finance from Cass Business School and a BSc in Business Administration from Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics.

João Oliveira
Associate

· Extensive private equity experience.

 

· Previously Investment Executive at Sherpa Capital.

 

· Previous experience at Ferrovial and Clearwater.

 

· Business Administration and Management Degree from Universidad de Navarra.

Íñigo Urbón

Director

· Extensive private equity experience.

 

· Previously Investment Associate at Sherpa Capital.

 

· Previous experience at H.I.G. Capital and McKinsey & Company.

 

· Business Administration Degree and MSc in Finance from ESADE Business School.

Jules de Meeûs
Associate

· Extensive private equity experience.

 

· Previously Investment Executive at Sherpa Capital.

 

· Previous experience as an Assistant Manager at Deloitte Corporate Finance, participating in M&A transactions, debt raising and restructuring transactions; and Garrigues, leading Spanish law firm.

 

· Double degree in Law and Business Management (taught in English) from Universidad Pablo de Olavide.

Ricardo Mellado
Vice President