One Equity Partners Acquires Leviat in $2.3B Construction Deal

One Equity Partners closed a $2.3 billion acquisition of Leviat, the engineered construction connections specialist, from materials giant CRH on Wednesday — a deal that underscores rising private equity conviction in the infrastructure buildout thesis even as commercial real estate markets sputter.

The transaction hands OEP a global platform with 2,400 employees across 20 countries that manufactures the hidden hardware holding together bridges, parking garages, data centers, and renewable energy installations. Think steel-to-concrete connections, seismic anchors, and modular building systems — unglamorous but mission-critical components that building codes mandate and structural engineers specify by name.

CRH, which bought Leviat's predecessor companies between 2019 and 2023 before consolidating them under a single brand, exits with a reported 1.9x cash return after three years. The Irish building materials conglomerate characterized the sale as portfolio streamlining to focus on its core aggregates, cement, and asphalt operations across North America and Europe.

What makes the deal interesting isn't the headline number — it's the timing. OEP is buying into construction exposure at a moment when U.S. office vacancy rates hit 20% in major metros and multifamily starts are down 35% year-over-year. But infrastructure? That's a different story entirely.

The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021 is still in early innings. Federal data shows only 38% of allocated funds have been deployed as of Q1 2026, with major bridge, tunnel, and transit projects ramping through 2029. Europe's €300 billion REPowerEU initiative is on a similar timeline, prioritizing energy grid upgrades and industrial decarbonization — both Leviat sweet spots.

Leviat's product mix maps directly to these spending priorities. The company's seismic connection systems are spec'd into earthquake retrofits across California and the Pacific Northwest. Its precast concrete anchoring technology enables faster construction on infrastructure projects where speed-to-delivery carries liquidated damages clauses. And its wind tower anchoring solutions tie into the offshore wind buildout happening from Massachusetts to the Carolinas.

"We're not buying a cyclical building products company," one person close to the deal told me. "We're buying pick-and-shovel exposure to a multi-year infrastructure replacement cycle that's getting forced through whether the economy cooperates or not."

That distinction matters. While residential construction follows interest rates and commercial follows employment trends, infrastructure spending follows political timelines and regulatory mandates. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the U.S. needs $2.6 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2029 just to maintain current conditions — never mind improve them.

CRH's exit makes sense if you understand what business it wants to be in. The company generates 70% of revenue from vertically integrated positions in aggregates and ready-mix concrete — high-volume, localized businesses where owning the quarry and the truck fleet creates competitive moats. Leviat, by contrast, is a globally distributed, engineering-intensive, specification-driven business with completely different operating characteristics.

"It was always a bit of an odd fit," one former CRH executive noted. "Great business, but it required a different playbook than running rock quarries in Texas."

For OEP, Leviat checks three boxes the firm has targeted historically: (1) fragmented end markets where brand and engineering credibility matter more than price, (2) installed customer relationships that create recurring specification revenue, and (3) bolt-on acquisition runway in adjacent geographies and product categories.

The engineered connections market remains fragmented outside a handful of global players. Regional fabricators still dominate in emerging markets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America — geographies where Leviat has brand recognition but subscale operations. OEP's thesis appears to hinge on using Leviat as an acquisition platform to roll up local players while cross-selling the full product portfolio into large infrastructure projects.

The company didn't disclose revenue or EBITDA figures, but construction industry sources estimate Leviat generates approximately $600-700 million in annual revenue based on employee count and market positioning. If accurate, OEP paid roughly 3.3-3.8x revenue — a premium multiple that suggests either strong profitability or aggressive growth assumptions baked into the model.

OEP didn't break out financing terms, but the deal closed in an environment where leveraged loan spreads have compressed to 375-400 basis points over SOFR for sponsor-backed infrastructure plays — about 75 bps tighter than general industrial lending. Credit investors are treating infrastructure-linked assets as pseudo-defensive plays, even in a 5% rate environment, because the revenue visibility extends beyond typical economic cycles.

Buried in Leviat's product portfolio is a connector systems division that's become critical to offsite construction and modular building — a market that's finally gaining traction after years of false starts.

Modular construction — where building components are fabricated in factories and assembled onsite — has struggled to scale in the U.S. due to financing gaps, zoning restrictions, and coordination challenges. But McKinsey projects the modular market could hit $130 billion globally by 2030 as labor shortages and cost pressures force the industry toward industrialized production.

Leviat's systems enable faster, safer connections between prefabricated concrete panels — exactly what's needed to make modular economically viable at scale. The company's Halfen brand, acquired by CRH in 2019, pioneered many of the anchoring systems now considered standard in European modular projects.

If modular penetration in the U.S. moves from current 3-4% of construction starts to even 10% — still well below the 15-20% common in Scandinavia — Leviat's connector volumes could double without winning a single additional customer. That's the kind of structural tailwind that makes PE firms salivate.

"The real option value here isn't in growing market share," one infrastructure-focused LP observed. "It's in riding market structure change as the industry shifts from field labor to factory production. Leviat's already the incumbent as that transition happens."

The AI infrastructure arms race has created surprise demand for Leviat's products. Hyperscale data centers require seismic anchoring, vibration isolation, and high-load connections for generator and cooling systems — applications where Leviat's engineered solutions are increasingly spec'd in. CBRE estimates North American data center construction will exceed $50 billion annually through 2028, with each facility requiring $2-4 million in specialized anchoring and connection hardware.

OEP didn't highlight data centers in its acquisition rationale — focusing instead on infrastructure and renewable energy — but the exposure exists and could become material as AI capital spending continues.

Buying the platform is the easy part. Creating value at a 3.5x+ revenue multiple requires execution on multiple fronts, and the track record for industrial roll-ups is decidedly mixed.

First, OEP needs to protect Leviat's specification position. In engineered construction products, brand erosion happens slowly — then all at once. Engineers specify products they trust, and switching costs are high because connection failures create catastrophic liability exposure. But if product quality slips or lead times extend during the integration period, specification losses can take years to recover.

Second, the firm needs to identify and execute on bolt-on M&A without overpaying. The construction products space is littered with roll-up attempts that acquired revenue at escalating multiples without achieving the promised synergies. Regional players know they're acquisition targets and price accordingly.

Third — and this is where most industrial buyouts stumble — OEP needs to modernize operations without disrupting customer relationships. Leviat runs on a mix of ERP systems inherited from acquired companies, serves customers through a patchwork of regional sales teams, and manages inventory across dozens of facilities. There's obvious efficiency opportunity. There's also obvious execution risk if the integration moves too fast.

OEP retained Leviat's existing management team, including CEO David Coughlan, who led the brand consolidation under CRH. That's a tell. When PE firms believe operational transformation is the value creation path, they bring in new management. When they believe market positioning and M&A execution are the paths, they keep incumbents who know the customer base.

The decision suggests OEP's playbook here is growth-focused rather than efficiency-focused — at least in year one.

Comparable transactions in engineered construction products have traded between 2.5x-3.2x revenue over the past 18 months, with EBITDA multiples in the 11-14x range depending on growth profile and margin structure. OEP's purchase price implies either best-in-class margins or a willingness to pay for growth optionality that isn't yet reflected in current financials.

Recent deals in adjacent categories provide context:

The premium suggests OEP sees growth drivers that weren't fully priced into CRH's exit multiple — likely some combination of infrastructure spending acceleration, modular construction adoption, and international expansion opportunity.

Whether those drivers materialize at the pace and scale required to generate PE-level returns is the $2.3 billion question.

Infrastructure spending timelines are political, which means they're subject to change. The 2026 midterm elections could shift appropriations priorities, and federal infrastructure dollars often get delayed by permitting battles, state matching fund shortfalls, and local opposition to specific projects.

Internationally, Leviat has exposure to European construction markets that remain under pressure from energy costs and weak industrial demand. Germany — a key market for precast concrete systems — has seen construction activity decline for seven consecutive quarters. That's not changing until business confidence recovers, which most economists don't expect until late 2027.

Then there's steel price volatility. While Leviat engineers and assembles products rather than smelting raw steel, input cost swings still compress margins when customer contracts are bid months in advance. Rising trade tensions and potential tariff changes under various policy scenarios add uncertainty to landed costs for products manufactured in Europe and Asia but sold in North America.

None of these risks are deal-breakers individually. But they accumulate. And in a leveraged buyout, margin compression and revenue shortfalls compound quickly when debt service is fixed.

Even if infrastructure spending materializes on schedule, construction labor shortages could bottleneck project starts — which would delay Leviat's revenue realization even as its cost structure remains fixed. The Associated General Contractors of America reports 80% of construction firms can't fill open positions, with skilled trades seeing the most acute shortages.

Ironically, this could accelerate modular construction adoption — which would benefit Leviat's connector business — but the transition won't happen overnight. There's a messy middle period where traditional construction slows due to labor constraints but modular hasn't scaled enough to fill the gap.

OEP's first 12-18 months will reveal whether this deal was a conviction bet on infrastructure fundamentals or an optimistic entry at the top of a construction cycle.

Watch for bolt-on acquisition announcements, particularly in APAC and Middle East markets where Leviat has brand presence but limited manufacturing footprint. If OEP starts acquiring regional connection hardware companies in those geographies, it signals commitment to the roll-up strategy and confidence in long-term demand.

Watch for management changes in 2027. If the existing team remains in place through year two, it suggests the business is performing in line with underwriting assumptions. If OEP brings in new operational leadership, it means the easy growth didn't materialize and efficiency plays are moving to the foreground.

And watch for financing activity. If OEP refinances or upsizes the debt package within 18 months, it likely means EBITDA growth is exceeding projections and the firm is pulling forward leverage to fund acquisitions or return capital to LPs. If the capital structure stays quiet, growth is probably tracking to plan — or underperforming.