Infrastructure group to buy ground engineering contractor as well as steel specialist Crofton Engineering
Austrian-based construction group Strabag is buying ground engineering contractor Van Elle for £59m, its second acquisition in a week.
The £20bn group is aggressively targeting growth in the UK and is working on major infrastructure scheme such as HS2 and the £3bn Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP) in North West England.
The firm is one of Europe’s largest construction groups which operates in 80 countries – as well as UK the firm is also targeting growth in Australia after buying Georgiou last year.
The deal, led by the firms UK arm and expected to be completed in June, is a recommended offer of 53.3p a share for AIM-listed Van Elle. The group listed in 2016 and is one of the UK’s largest ground engineering and geotechnical contractors with a turnover of £130.5m and employing 650 staff.
Strabag said the deal was an important step in its goal of creating a “vertically integrated market leader in construction services” in the UK.
Andrew Dixon and Simon Wild, joint managing directors of Strabag UK, said: “We are confident that the combination (of the two firms) will drive additional value through our complementary client relationships and end markets.”
Frank Nelson, chairman of Van Elle, said the offer from Strabag represented a “significant premium” and would provide “ Van Elle’s customer base with a supportive sector specialist owner focused on developing its product offering”.
On Tuesday Strabag also announced the acquisition of Crofton Engineering, a structural steelwork specialist based in Cambridgeshire. The firm will retain its name and senior management following the deal.
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