Sweco, an international consulting group with combined expertise in consulting engineering, environmental technology and architecture, has signed an agreement to acquire the Finnish engineering consultancy FMC Group with annual sales of EUR 80 million and around 1,100 employees. The deal will create the second largest engineering consultancy on the Finnish market. The enterprise value of the acquisition is EUR 65 million and will be paid for through a combination of cash and equity consideration.
FMC Group is the Finnish market leader in structural engineering and holds strong positions in segments such as building service systems and industrial engineering. FMC Group reported an operating profit (EBITA) of EUR 9.4 million for the financial year 2010/2011.
The acquisition will give Sweco annual sales of approximately SEK 6.4 billion and a total of around 7,300 employees, of which 1,600 in Finland. Sweco already previously had more than 500 employees in Finland.
“The acquisition is an important step in our ambition to strengthen Sweco’s leading position in the Nordic region. Together with FMC Group, we will have a very strong position in Finland and be able to offer our customers a wider range of services. We will become the obvious alternative to the Poyry and the ambition is clear. We will be number one in Finland”, says Sweco’s CEO Mats Wäppling.
Sweco and FMC Group are complementary in several areas, including structural design and industrial engineering. The merger will also provide excellent opportunities for growth in Finland within environmental technology, energy and infrastructure.
FMC Group has offices at 21 locations in Finland and operations in the Baltic countries, Poland, Russia and India. The group includes companies like Finnmap Consulting, Aaro Kohonen and the Airix companies.
“The merger with Sweco increases our strength and broaden our services significantly, wich will specially benefit our customers. Together we will become stronger in many important areas, particularly in large projects involving several disciplines, says Markku Varis”, President of FMC Group’s parent company, Finnmap Conculting.
The transaction is commenced through Sweco acquiring all shares in FMC Group’s parent company, Finnmap Consulting Oy. Sellers include the founders and management. The enterprise value amounts to EUR 65 million, and the consideration is a combination of cash and 795,000 Sweco class B treasury shares. The acquisition is subject to approval by the competition authorities and the transaction is expected to have a positive effect on earnings per share. Closing is expected during quarter one 2012.
Since the beginning of the 2000s Sweco has acquired more than 80 companies with a total of around 4,000 employees. Over the same period, operating profit has risen by an average of 16 per cent annually.
Source: http://www.swecogroup.com/en/Sweco-group/Press/Press-releases/
