Arcadis completes £296m Hyder acquisition

Dutch consultant Arcadis has completed its £296m takeover of UK engineer Hyder.

Trading in Hyder shares was suspended first thing yesterday morning as the firm prepared to complete the deal.

An announcement was made later that day that the takeover had been approved by the Court, meaning the scheme to acquire the Hyder shares was now effective.

The firm said that Hyder shareholders will be paid the money, 750p per share, owed to them between today and 30 October.

The deal increases Arcadis’ turnover to €2.9bn (£2.3bn) and boosts it staff number to around 26,500.

The completion of the deal has been long awaited since Arcadis first bid for Hyder in July.

Arcadis had to up its offer by a total of £40m after it became locked in a bidding war with Japanese rival Nippon Koei.

However, the Japanese firm withdrew from the race in September after Arcadis snapped up a significant number of Hyder directors shares to give it a 28% stake in the firm.

The stake was enough to enable it to block any rival bids, though it did mean it had to increase its overall offer to £296m, up from the £288m it had offered in August.

Noriaki Hirose, president of Nippon Koei, said he “regretted” the effect any uncertainty over the firm’s future had had on its staff as he withdrew his firm from the bidding race.

Arcadis’ acquisition of Hyder is expected to boost the position of EC Harris, Arcadis’ existing UK-based business, by enabling it to offer a “full set of integrated services”, according to Arcadis’ chief executive.

Neil McArthur, chief executive of Arcadis told Building in August: “The deal will allow EC Harris to offer our clients a full suite of business capabilities, including design and engineering.”