WSP to acquire US-based consultancy Ecology and Environment Inc.
Montreal-based design and engineering consultancy WSP has signed an agreement to acquire Ecology and Environment, a Buffalo-based environmental consulting firm.
Ecology and Environment Inc. provides environmental-focused consulting services to government and private sector clients. The company has worked on high-profile projects such as the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan and San Mateo County’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan, and has supported large federal programs with agencies such as the EPA, US Navy, and US Army Corps of Engineers.
The majority of E & E’s footprint and revenues are in the US, accounting for nearly 80% of 2018’s US$73.5 million net revenues. Outside of its more than 20 US offices, the company has five locations in Latin America. E & E currently has 775 employees.
WSP has agreed to buy the public company for US$65.1 million, including a special dividend of US$2.2 million. The move will bolster WSP’s capabilities and presence in the US governmental sector, while carrying forth its 2019-2021 global strategic plan, which seeks to exceed rival SNC-Lavalin with 65,000 workers in the next three years.
Montreal-based WSP currently has 49,000 employees, and in excess of $6.9 billion in annual revenues. Since 2014, the company has gone through an aggressive mergers and acquisitions period, absorbing over 30 companies and swelling its employee numbers from 17,000 to nearly 50,000.
“This acquisition, which is in line with our 2019-2021 Global Strategic Plan, will enable us to increase both our Strategic Advisory Services offering and our presence in the United States, most particularly the US governmental sector,” Alexandre L’Heureux, president and CEO of WSP, said. “E & E, which is recognized for its expertise in environment, has built experience in sectors and services that WSP had targeted for growth, including environmental impact assessment, emergency planning and management, as well as site restoration.”
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, pending customary conditions and regulatory approval.
WSP earlier this year acquired US-based Leach Wallace Associates, a 125-person provider of engineering design services to the healthcare sector. The move created the largest pure-play healthcare engineering practice in North America, according to a release from the firm.
