Montreal engineering firm Genivar Inc. announced night it is recommending an offer to pay WSP shareholders 278 million British Pounds, or $442 million, to acquire WSP Group shares. If the WSP acquisition is approved, the merged firm would be the 18th largest global design firm.
Genivar Inc. of Montreal has agreed to acquire engineering consulting firm WSP Group PLC of London, England
Genivar announced Thursday night it is recommending an offer to pay WSP shareholders 278 million British Pounds, or $442 million, to acquire WSP Group shares. The purchase price is based on 4.35 Pounds per share, which is 67 per cent higher than the closing price of WSP shares Wednesday.
Genivar currently has 5,500 employees, with operations in Canada, the U.S., France, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. If the WSP acquisition is approved, the merged firm would have 14,500 employees in more than 30 countries. It would be the 18th largest global design firm. Genivar president and CEO Pierre Shoiry would stay on in the same capacity with the merged firm. Christopher Cole, the current chief executive of WSP, would become executive chairman of the board of the merged corporation.
The offer, expected to close July 31, is subject to “customary closing conditions” including approval by WSP shareholders.
Firms recently acquired by Genivar include Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Inc. of Winnipeg, Quebec mechanical and electrical engineering firm Les Investissements R.J. Inc. and GRB Engineering Ltd., which provides services for the oil and gas industry.
In 2011, Genivar earned $50.056 million on revenues of $651.885 million. WSP Group reported revenue of 717 million Pounds, or $1.14 billion.
DCN DIGITAL MEDIA
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed