WSP Global explained

WSP Global Inc.
Type:Public
Traded As:
S&P/TSX Composite Component
Industry:Design, Engineering & Construction consulting, Environmental consulting, Professional services, Town planning
Predecessor:Genivar Inc.
WSP Group plc
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Key People:Alexandre J. L'Heureux
(President and CEO)
Revenue:C$14.44 billion (2023)
Num Employees:66,500 (2023)[1]
Location City:Montreal, Quebec
Location Country:Canada

WSP Global Inc. is a Canadian consulting firm working mostly in the built environment. It was created in 2012, following Montreal-based Genivar's takeover of British firm WSP Group plc. It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. After the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff in October 2014, WSP effectively became one of the largest professional services firms in the world, with approximately 66,500[1] employees in 500 offices serving in 40 countries.

History

Origins of WSP

Williams Sale Partnership was established in 1969 in England by Chris Cole, Geoffrey Williams, John Sale and Geoffrey Middleton.[2] In 1976, it was a founding member of the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA). It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987.[2]

In the 1990s, the company expanded at home and overseas forming WSP Asia in 1995, incorporating T P O'Sullivan and Partners in 1997, acquiring US practices Cantor Seinuk and Flack + Kurtz in 2000, as well as buying Jacobson & Widmark (J&W) in Sweden in 2001 (J&W was founded in 1938), LT Consultants Oyj and EMP Projects Oyj in Finland in 2003 and, PHB Group in the UAE in 2005.[2]

Genivar

After acquiring three firms and geographical expansion in 1993, the name of the Canadian firm GBGM was changed to Genivar Inc.[3]

In August 2011, Genivar Inc. and Montreal-based architectural firm ARCOP announced an alliance.

Takeover

On 7 June 2012, Genivar made a friendly takeover cash offer of £278 million (C$442 million) for WSP Group plc, headquartered in London. The offer was backed by WSP's board of directors as well as investors holding 37% of the company's shares and the takeover was completed on 1 August 2012.[4] [5] [6] This merger created a professional-services firm with approximately 15,000 employees, working in over 300 offices worldwide.[7]

The company reorganised its corporate structure on 1 January 2014, to create a parent company named WSP Global Inc. and adopted the common brand of WSP.

Subsequent acquisitions

In October 2014, WSP completed the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff from Balfour Beatty for US$1.24 billion.[8] The company has a network of approximately 170 offices and nearly 13,500 employees on five continents[9] and became a wholly owned independent subsidiary.[10] Together, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the largest professional services firms in the world with approximately 32,000 employees in 500 offices serving 39 countries.

In early 2015, WSP announced plans to expand to 45,000 employees by 2020.[11] In October 2016, WSP purchased Mouchel Consulting from the Kier Group for approximately £75 million.[12]

In January 2017, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff announced that it would assume the name "WSP", effective from May 2017.[13] In August 2017, WSP made a takeover bid for Opus International Consultants.[14]

In July 2018, WSP announced its intention to buy Berger Group Holdings Inc., parent of the group of companies operating under the name of Louis Berger Group, a Morristown, N.J.-based international professional-services firm, for $400 million.[15]

In February 2020, WSP acquired US-based environmental consulting firm LT Environmental (LTE).[16] On December 3, 2020, WSP acquired Canadian-based geotechnical, earth-science, and environmental consulting firm Golder for $1.14 billion.[17]

On June 1, 2022, WSP announced an agreement of sale with Wood Group plc for the Environment & Infrastructure group (E&I) part of its business. The £1.6 bn acquisition was concluded in September 2022.[18] In August 2022, WSP made an unsuccessful takeover offer to purchase RPS Group for £591 million.[19] [20] [21] In September 2022, RPS received a counter takeover offer from Tetra Tech for £636 million[22] with WSP opting not to increase its bid.[23] RPS' shareholders voted to accept the Tetra Tech offer in November 2022.[24]

In December 2022, WSP announced plans to acquire a 700-person Swiss engineering firm, BG Consulting Engineers, based in Lausanne with offices in France, Portugal and Italy.[25]

In August 2024, WSP announced plans to acquire 4000-person US based consulting engineering firm, POWER Engineers, based in Hailey, Idaho with over 50 offices around the US and Canada for US$1.78 billion.[26] [27]

Projects

WSP projects include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WSP 2023 Annual Report. WSP Global. 9 March 2023. 9 March 2023.
  2. Web site: Building Magazine, The Long Haul . 3 April 2008.
  3. Web site: History. WSP. 10 April 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413123729/http://www.wspgroup.com/en/Who-we-are/About-us/History/. 13 April 2014.
  4. News: Genivar bids for WSP Group as Quebec firms continue Europe takeover binge. Van Praet. Nicolas. 2012-06-07. Financial Post. 9 June 2012.
  5. Web site: Genivar's $442 million WSP Group PLC takeover, no job cuts. 2012-06-08. The Gazette. 9 June 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120615201431/http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Genivar+million+Group+takeover+cuts/6751882/story.html. 15 June 2012.
  6. Web site: GENIVAR and WSP Group join forces to become a global professional services firm with world-class expertise. 2012-06-07. GENIVAR Inc. (GNV). TMX Group. 9 June 2012. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130723153244/http://tmx.quotemedia.com/article.php?newsid=51874154&qm_symbol=GNV. 23 July 2013.
  7. Web site: GENIVAR Inc Completes Acquisition Of WSP Group PLC. Reuters. 1 August 2012. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140104201510/http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/WSP.TO/key-developments/article/2582923. 4 January 2014.
  8. News: Balfour Beatty to Sell Parsons Brinckerhoff to WSP Global. Tess. Stynes. Wall Street Journal . 3 September 2014. online.wsj.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170712024815/https://www.wsj.com/articles/balfour-beatty-to-sell-parsons-brinckerhoff-to-wsp-global-1409778904. 12 July 2017.
  9. Web site: WSP to Acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff, a Leading Global Professional Services Firm With a Deep Expertise in Infrastructure . 23 September 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140912134848/http://www.wspgroup.com/en/WSP-UK/Who-we-are/Newsroom/News-releases1/20141/WSP-to-Acquire-Parsons-Brinckerhoff-a-Leading-Global-Professional-Services-Firm-With-a-Deep-Expertise-in-Infrastructure-/ . 12 September 2014 .
  10. Web site: Press Releases. wspgroup.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141101090837/http://www.wspgroup.com/en/Investors/Investors-Relations-Overview/Press-Releases/?prYear=2014&prID=1891729. 2014-11-01.
  11. Web site: Engineering consultancy firm WSP Global soars to new heights. 2015-01-20. Nicolas Van Praet. The Globe and Mail. 23 February 2016. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305115907/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/engineering-design-consultancy-firm-wsp-global-soars-to-new-heights/article22543343/. 5 March 2016.
  12. Web site: Kier Banks £40m as it offloads consultancy business to WSP. 2016-10-12. Rhiannon Bury. The Telegraph. 31 October 2016. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161101044312/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/10/12/kier-banks-40m-as-it-offloads-consultancy-business-to-wsp/. 1 November 2016.
  13. Web site: WSP PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF REBRANDING AS WSP. wsp-pb.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170116154350/http://www.wsp-pb.com/en/WSP-USA/Who-we-are-USA1/Newsroom/News-Releases/2017/WSP--Parsons-Brinckerhoff-Rebranding-as-WSP/. 2017-01-16.
  14. Web site: Canada's WSP Global makes takeover bid for NZ's Opus International . 14 August 2017 . Stuff.co.nz.
  15. Web site: Rubin . Debra . WSP Global Will Acquire Louis Berger for $400 Million . Engineering News-Record (ENR) . BNP Media . 22 October 2018.
  16. Web site: WSP Acquires LT Environmental. 2020-02-03. Tunnel Business Magazine. en-US. 2020-03-17.
  17. Web site: WSP to Acquire Golder Creating the Leading Global Environmental Consulting Firm. 2020-12-03. Yahoo!Finance. en-US. 2020-12-10.
  18. News: WSP completes £1.6bn John Wood E&I acquisition . 22 September 2022 . The Construction Index . 22 September 2022.
  19. News: Prior . Grant . WSP to buy consultant RPS Group for £591m . 9 August 2022 . Construction Enquirer . 9 August 2022.
  20. News: RPS board backs WSP takeover offer . 9 August 2022 . The Construction Index . 9 August 2022.
  21. https://web.archive.org/web/20220809113223/https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/wsp-agrees-deal-to-buy-out-rps-09-08-2022/ WSP agrees deals to buy out RPS
  22. News: Prior . Grant . US consultant trumps WSP bid for RPS Group . 26 September 2022 . Construction Enquirer . 26 September 2022.
  23. News: Prior . Grant . WSP declines to enter bidding war for RPS Group . 11 October 2022 . Construction Enquirer . 11 October 2022.
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20221110104901/https://ir.rpsgroup.com/content/news/archive/2022/031122 Results of Court Meeting and General Meeting
  25. News: WSP to acquire leading Swiss engineering firm . 9 December 2022 . The Construction Index . 8 December 2022.
  26. Web site: WSP to Acquire Power Engineers Setting a Milestone for Accelerated Growth .
  27. Web site: POWER Signs Merger Agreement with WSP .
  28. Web site: Waite . Richard . 2020-05-20 . WilkinsonEyre wins go-ahead for Old Oak Common HS2 'super-hub' . 2024-05-14 . The Architects’ Journal . en.
  29. Web site: NGOs push for Montréal-based firm to be added to UN database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements. 21 September 2022. Canadian Dimension. 11 November 2022.
  30. Web site: CITY RAIL LINK . 2024-05-14 . wsp.com.

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