This is the third takeover WSP has announced in three months. In June, the company said it struck a definitive agreement to take over a business known as Environment & Infrastructure from Aberdeen, Scotland-based Wood for US$1.8-billion, adding another 6,000 employees to its payroll. Earlier this month, WSP said it would buy Capita Plc’s Capita REI and GL Hearn businesses in the U.K. for £60-million in a smaller deal that adds skill in real estate planning.
The company said it will sell $400-million worth of equity in a bought deal with a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC Capital Markets, National Bank Financial and RBC Capital Markets. It will raise another $400-million in a private placement with three existing WSP shareholders: Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.
WSP is one of the most active companies in Canadian infrastructure megaprojects – involved in the development of 18 of the biggest 20 projects currently underway, according to trade publication ReNew Canada. This latest takeover would bring its total employee count to 70,000 and revenue to $10-billion on a pro-forma basis.