Deal for $270m turnover business nearly doubles consultant’s headcount in the country

Ramboll construction image

Ramboll has beefed up its presence in the US with the acquisition of engineering and design consultancy OBG.

Financial details of the deal were not revealed but Denmark-headquartered Ramboll said the acquisition of the Syracuse, New York-based firm would add 900 US staff to its roster, nearly doubling its headcount in the country to 2,000.

Ramboll’s chief executive Jens-Peter Saul said growing its North America business had been a strategic priority since it established a presence in the US in 2014 with the deal to buy Virginia-based Environ.

“Together with OBG we can build on the platform we have developed in the US. By combining our analytical and consulting-oriented business in the US with the strong project execution capabilities of OBG we will be able to deliver full-scale, integrated solutions to our clients,” he added.

OBG was founded in 1945 and works out of 26 locations across the US, specialising in advanced manufacturing, energy, water and environmental activities. It has a turnover of $270m (£214m).

It is currently working on what it claimed to be one of the world’s largest advanced wastewater treatment plants, located in Washington, DC.

Ramboll said the combined revenues of the two firms at the time of the deal was around DKK12.7bn (£1.5bn). Last year Ramboll reported annual revenue of DKK10.7bn (£1.3bn).