The process was first considered in 2022, but it took two years for Quadrante, a Portuguese engineering and consultancy firm, to complete the acquisition. Last September, Quadrante finalised the purchase of Spain’s Meta Engineering. Not only did a Portuguese company acquire a competitor in the neighbouring country, but it also absorbed a company larger than itself: Quadrante’s 590 employees were joined by Meta Engineering’s 650.
It was the biggest step in the company’s expansion. Nuno Costa, CEO and one of Quadrante’s founders, has only one regret:
“We should have pursued this growth strategy sooner.”
The executive believes that growing through acquisitions is the right path. “Usually, foreign companies buy Portuguese ones. That is our fate in Portugal unless business owners take a proactive approach to growing Portuguese companies,” says Nuno Costa. He explains that he has sought advice from “people who have already gone through expansion processes” to avoid making mistakes.
The acquisition of Meta Engineering, for which the price has not been disclosed, follows smaller purchases such as Infraconsult (2006), Procesl (2012), and Viaponte (2016). These acquisitions allowed Quadrante to expand its operations. Procesl, for instance, brought expertise in environmental impact assessments (EIA), helping Quadrante become one of Portugal’s leading EIA firms, responsible for a significant share of studies on new solar power plants, wind farms, and other energy transition projects.
Quadrante was founded in 1998 by Nuno Costa and two university colleagues, later joined by Nuno’s brother. The founding partners have remained together. Over the years, they explored a few foreign markets, such as Brazil, but in 2022 they decided to take a bigger leap by expanding into Spain and the United States. However, breaking into the US market would have been difficult with Quadrante’s size at the time.
The first step was Spain. To enter the neighbouring market, Quadrante’s founders realised they needed financial muscle. They ended up selling 49.5% of the company to the Spanish private equity fund Henko Partners.
“It was a well-thought-out decision. It wasn’t difficult, but it was carefully considered,” recalls Nuno Costa.
The acquisition in Spain was worked on for several months, involving a team of around ten people from Quadrante. Choosing the right company involved analysing not just the business itself, but also the quality of its human resources. For Nuno Costa, more important than business compatibility was “the company’s culture,” to ensure a smooth integration.
In September, Quadrante informed its employees about the acquisition. Nuno Costa says he aimed to communicate “transparency and clarity about the process” and to convey the message that “a larger company is more resilient, and people will have more opportunities for professional growth.”
The Next Step
The acquisition led to a transformation of the company’s organisation into a “matrix structure of markets and sectors,” according to Nuno Costa, integrating projects across mobility, energy, and urban buildings, as well as regions such as Portugal, Spain, Eastern Europe, and South America.
Quadrante closed 2024 with €57 million in revenue, while Meta Engineering reached €49 million. The new group, now under a holding company called Compass Group, has a combined annual turnover of €106 million.
Expansion is set to continue. Quadrante has opened an office in Houston, USA, is hiring staff, and is considering an acquisition in the country.
“Clients of ours, such as EDP, Iberdrola, Enel, and Naturgy, have asked us to establish a presence in the US because they need support there,” explains Quadrante’s co-founder.
It is well known that Donald Trump is not a strong advocate of clean energy, but Nuno Costa believes there will be plenty of business opportunities. “We will first focus on transmission line and substation projects,” he says, adding that “ambition comes with risks.”
“Taking risks is normal,” he emphasises.
