Montreal-based project management giant SNC-Lavalin as of Monday is the new owner of British engineering company WS Atkins, an increasingly significant contractor in cleanup of the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear complex.
The £ 2.1 billion ($2.7 billion) deal brings the 18,000-employee Atkins, and its $3.5 billion (CAN) in annual revenue, under the SNC-Lavalin umbrella, according to a press release announcing completion of the deal.
“By combining our two highly complementary businesses, we are solidifying SNC-Lavalin’s position as one of the largest fully integrated professional services firms in the world, while improving our margins and balancing our business portfolio,” SNC-Lavalin President and CEO Neil Bruce said in the release.
SNC-Lavalin operates in four major business categories: infastructure, mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, and power.
Combined, the companies will encompass more than 50,000 employees and yearly revenue of about $12 billion (CAN), the release says.
There was no immediate word Monday from either company on what the buyout might mean for Atkins’ work at several facilities the Department of Energy.
Atkins is lead partner, with Fluor and Westinghouse, in the Mid-America Conversion Services joint venture that in September 2016 secured a five-year, $318 million contract to operate depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facilities at DOE sites in Ohio and Kentucky. Atkins, with partner AECOM, also manages waste tank operations at the Hanford Site in Washington state through the Washington River Protection Solutions venture.
