Partners Group agrees US utility services deal

Partners Group has bought utility services firm United States Infrastructure Corporation, becoming the company’s fourth owner in nine years.

The Swiss investment firm will take over a business that focuses on underground utility damage prevention across the US and Canada. Partners Group said USIC’s work is based across major utility sectors such as cable, telecommunications, electricity, gas, water and sewage.

The deal has been made as part of a cross-market approach by Partners Group’s private markets platform and includes investments by funds in both its infrastructure and private equity teams, although it is led by the latter. David Layton, the firm’s head of private equity, said Partners Group had been tracking the progress of USIC for several years.

“In the current investment environment, we are looking for stable businesses with resilient cashflows and strong growth prospects,” he added.

USIC’s new owner will seek to grow the business through investments in technology and data management and will target growth both organically and through acquisitions.

Partners Group is the latest parent of USIC during its short history. It was created by private equity firm Kohlberg & Company in 2008 through the combination of two competitors before being sold in 2010 to OMERS Private Equity. The Canadian investor passed the baton to Leonard Green & Partners in 2013 and the Los Angeles-based firm has now relinquished control to Partners Group.