6 Aug 2010
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Aecom buys Davis Langdon for £200m

Davis Langdon, the UK cost and project consultant, has been bought by acquisitive American giant Aecom in a deal worth £200m.

Davis Langdon, which turns over around £270m per year and employs around 2,500 people, agreed to accept 80 per cent of the take over proceeds in cash, with the remaining 20 per cent paid for in Aecom shares, Construction News reported.

Aecom has approximately 46,000 employees around the world and had revenue of £4 bn during the 12 month period ended 31March 2010.

Davis Langdon international board director, Rob Smith said: “We are delighted to be joining Aecom. Now, more than ever before, our clients are looking for integrated solutions and access to global knowledge. In partnership with Aecom, Davis Langdon will be well-positioned to deliver our front- end cost and project management, and consultancy services as part of a complete end-to-end offer.”

Aecom president and chief executive officer, John Dionisio said: “Davis Langdon’s strong cost and project management capabilities bolster our growing portfolio of construction management services.”

“The addition of Davis Langdon to Aecom reflects our continued commitment to execute on our stated strategy of growth and diversification, especially from a global footprint standpoint. Davis Langdon’s presence in growth markets positions us well to offer a comprehensive and global program management solution to our clients.”

However, the deal has intensified concerns in the sector that giant consultants will snap up an even larger share of work, Construction Enquirer reported.

One consultant told Construction Enquirer: “This will further reduce the opportunity for smaller consultancies to win major projects.

“I suppose the corporate approach is inevitable given the significant savings associated with a single brand approach and the obvious preference by clients for appointing huge organisations to deliver projects.”

The takeover talks are also understood to have focused on issues such as who will lead the business and whether the Davis Langdon name will remain, Building reported. Some industry figures have speculated it could eventually disappear given that Aecom has rebranded previous acquisitions, including engineering consultant Faber Maunsell and architect Edaw.

The take over is expected to reach financial close in October.