I Squared Capital
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity, Infrastructure investment |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Sadek Wahba, Adil Rahmathulla, Gautam Bhandari |
| Headquarters | Miami , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (Asia, Europe, Americas) |
Key people | Sadek Wahba, Adil Rahmathulla, Gautam Bhandari |
| Products | Infrastructure investments in energy, utilities, transportation, telecommunications |
Number of employees | 300 (2025) |
I Squared Capital is a United States-based private equity firm that focuses on infrastructure investments worldwide. The company concentrates on sectors such as energy, utilities, transportation, and telecommunications throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. By November 2024, it oversaw assets exceeding $40 billion.
History
Established in 2012 by former Morgan Stanley leaders Sadek Wahba, Adil Rahmathulla, and Gautam Bhandari, I Squared Capital launched its inaugural fund, ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund LP, in 2015 with $3 billion raised from investors including Mitsubishi Corporation and the Rhode Island State Investment Commission. By the middle of 2018, this fund had achieved a 23% gross annualized return.
Initially headquartered in New York, the firm moved its base to Miami in 2018. That same year, it completed fundraising for ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund II at $7 billion, exceeding its initial target of $5 billion. In April 2022, I Squared finalized ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III LP with commitments totaling $15.5 billion.
In December 2023, Blue Owl Capital expanded its ownership by acquiring a portion of co-founder Rahmathulla’s shares. As of January 2025, I Squared Capital employs approximately 300 professionals and continues to grow its portfolio of global infrastructure assets.
Investments
In December 2014, I Squared purchased Jaipur Mahua Tollways, a 109-kilometer highway project along National Highway 11 in Rajasthan, India. That year, it collaborated with Enduring Hydro to establish Cube Hydro Partners, focusing on hydroelectric power ventures. By February 2015, the firm had acquired ten run-of-the-river hydroelectric plants located in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. By July 2016, it owned nineteen hydroelectric facilities spanning ten rivers across five U.S. states.
The company diversified within the energy sector by investing $150 million in Amplus Energy Solutions, an Indian rooftop solar provider, in August 2015. In December of the same year, it acquired a 220-mile pipeline network from WPX Energy in New Mexico for $285 million. January 2016 saw I Squared acquire Lincoln Clean Energy, a developer of wind farms in North America; this asset was later sold to Ørsted for $580 million in August 2018.
In March 2016, I Squared purchased Viridian, an Irish energy company supplying approximately one-fifth of Ireland’s electricity through gas-fired plants and wind farms, for around €1 billion. Later that year in October, the firm acquired Duke Energy’s hydroelectric and natural gas holdings across Latin America for $1.2 billion.
Significant investments were also made in telecommunications infrastructure. In August 2017, I Squared bought Hutchison Global Communications from Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Telecommunications for HK$14.5 billion ($1.86 billion). Hutchison operates over 1.4 million kilometers of fiber-optic cable and maintains a WiFi network featuring more than 25,000 hotspots. In October 2020, I Squared agreed to acquire GTT Communications’ infrastructure segment for $2.15 billion; this included submarine fiber networks and data centers throughout Europe and North America. These assets were spun off as EXA Infrastructure in 2021 and currently manage 103,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable along with eight subsea cables linking 300 cities and fourteen data centers.
In March 2021, together with TDR Capital, I Squared acquired British mobile power provider Aggreko for £2.3 billion ($3.4 billion). In May 2023, the firm expanded into Australia by purchasing Rentco Transport Equipment Rentals, a leading truck and trailer leasing business. By October 2023, I Squared reached an agreement to acquire UK transport operator Arriva from Deutsche Bahn; this transaction was finalized in June 2024 following approval from the European Commission.
In January 2024, I Squared secured a 49% ownership interest in Órigo Energia of Brazil—a renewable energy company specializing in solar farm development near metropolitan areas.
In July 2025, the firm further broadened its North American footprint by acquiring Durham School Services and Stock Transportation school bus operations from the Mobico Group.