Giant design/engineering firm WSP Global said today it plans to acquire infrastructure professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff from PB's parent organization, Balfour Beatty plc. The deal, which has been approved by the boards of WSP and Balfour Beatty, has an enterprise value of $1.243 billion, plus another $110 million in cash retained by PB.
The acquisition, if approved by Balfour Beatty shareholders and cleared by antitrust regulators, would create a mega-firm of more than 30,000 employees - 17,500 from Montreal-based WSP, 13,500 from New York-based Parsons Brinckerhoff. WSP currently has >300 offices in 30 countries on 5 continents; PB has 170 offices worldwide, with about 5,000 employees in the U.S.
The consolidation would strengthen WSP's position in the U.S. transportation segment and in the United Kingdom, where Parsons Brinckerhoff is a strong player. WSP said in a release that the move would also give the firm "a stronger presence in key growth regions such as Asia and Australia."
Parsons Brinckerhoff was founded in 1885. It is known for its expertise in infrastructure services in water, mining, power, transportation, energy, community development, and environment.
WSP, which acquired Flack & Kurtz in 2012, is considered a major player in urban planning and environmental projects, and in the engineering of complex buildings.
Related Stories
| Jan 10, 2011
Architect Jean Nouvel designs an island near Paris
Abandoned by carmaker Renault almost 20 years ago, Seguin Island in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, is being renewed by architect Jean Nouvel. Plans for the 300,000-square-meter project includes a mix of culture, commerce, urban parks, and gardens, which officials hope will attract both Parisians and tourists.
| Jan 10, 2011
Michael J. Alter, president of The Alter Group: ‘There’s a significant pent-up demand for projects’
Michael J. Alter, president of The Alter Group, a national corporate real estate development firm headquartered in Skokie, Ill., on the growth of urban centers, project financing, and what clients are saying about sustainability.
| Jan 7, 2011
BIM on Target
By using BIM for the design of its new San Clemente, Calif., store, big-box retailer Target has been able to model the entire structural steel package, including joists, in 3D, chopping the timeline for shop drawings from as much as 10 weeks down to an ‘unheard of’ three-and-a-half weeks.
| Jan 7, 2011
How Building Teams Choose Roofing Systems
A roofing survey emailed to a representative sample of BD+C’s subscriber list revealed such key findings as: Respondents named metal (56%) and EPDM (50%) as the roofing systems they (or their firms) employed most in projects. Also, new construction and retrofits were fairly evenly split among respondents’ roofing-related projects over the last couple of years.
| Jan 7, 2011
Total construction to rise 5.1% in 2011
Total U.S. construction spending will increase 5.1% in 2011. The gain from the end of 2010 to the end of 2011 will be 10%. The biggest annual gain in 2011 will be 10% for new residential construction, far above the 2-3% gains in all other construction sectors.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
| Jan 4, 2011
Product of the Week: Zinc cladding helps border crossing blend in with surroundings
Zinc panels provide natural-looking, durable cladding for an administrative building and toll canopies at the newly expanded Queenstown Plaza U.S.-Canada border crossing at the Niagara Gorge. Toronto’s Moriyama & Teshima Architects chose the zinc alloy panels for their ability to blend with the structures’ scenic surroundings, as well as for their low maintenance and sustainable qualities. The structures incorporate 14,000 sf of Rheinzink’s branded Angled Standing Seam and Reveal Panels in graphite gray.
| Jan 4, 2011
6 green building trends to watch in 2011
According to a report by New York-based JWT Intelligence, there are six key green building trends to watch in 2011, including: 3D printing, biomimicry, and more transparent and accurate green claims.
| Jan 4, 2011
LEED standards under fire in NYC
This year, for the first time, owners of 25,000 commercial properties in New York must report their buildings’ energy use to the city. However, LEED doesn’t measure energy use and costs, something a growing number of engineers, architects, and landlords insist must be done. Their concerns and a general blossoming of environmental awareness have spawned a host of rating systems that could test LEED’s dominance.