WSP buys John Wood Group's environmental consulting business
WSP, a Montreal-headquartered design and engineering consulting firm, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the environment and infrastructure (E&I) business of John Wood Group, an Aberdeen, UK-headquartered engineering consultancy.
WSP will pay a total cash consideration of $2.31 billion to acquire the business, which has approximately 6,000 employees across 100 offices in 10 countries. John Wood’s E&I business provides services in engineering, remediation consulting, environmental permitting, inspection & monitoring, and environmental management – with longstanding relationships with federal, state, and local governments.
The deal will significantly expand the scale of WSP’s earth and environment (E&E) practice, bringing it to approximately 20,000 people and about one-third of the firm’s annual revenue. The move will double the size of WSP’s environmental practice in the US and boost its ability to bid on major environmental and infrastructure projects for federal clients, the firm said in a press release. The acquisition will also bolster WSP’s presence in the UK and Canada.
WSP will also significantly enhance its water sector capabilities, which are now projected to reach $830 million in annual revenue globally.
WSP will add approximately $1.05 billion in net revenue through the acquisition to build on its goal of reaching over $10 billion in net revenue by 2024.
“Our platform will be increasingly diversified and resilient, with increased scale in geographies which we have identified for growth such as the United States, where our E&E team will double in size,” said Alexandre L’Heureux, president and CEO of WSP. “We look forward to having the team from E&I join us as we expand our leadership in Earth & Environment together.”
The deal follows WSP’s 2020 acquisition of Golder, a Mississauga, ON-headquartered environmental consultancy with 7,000 employees globally. The firm also last year acquired Earth Consulting Group, a US environmental specialist with approximately 90 employees.
The addition of the John Wood practice will bring WSP’s global headcount to 61,000 people.
“Throughout this process, I’ve been impressed with WSP’s growth story, excellent capabilities, focus on clients and the future aspirations for its business,” said Joe Sczurko, executive president, E&I consulting, John Wood Group. “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished to get here, and I look forward to the new opportunities that will be created for our employees and clients by joining WSP.”
The deal is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2022. Perella Weinberg Partners acted as exclusive financial advisors to WSP on the transaction.
