MONTREAL, Feb. 18,
2025 /CNW/ - AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (TSX: ATRL), a
world-class engineering services and nuclear company with offices
around the world, announced today that it has entered into a
definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in David Evans
Enterprises, Inc., the parent company of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (collectively
called "David Evans"), a leading employee-owned engineering and
staff augmentation services firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon. With 34 offices in 10 states
and approximately 1,250 employees, David
Evans serves the transportation, power, water &
environment, surveying & geomatics, and land development
markets, as well as staffing services.
Under the terms of the transaction, AtkinsRéalis will acquire a
70% stake in David Evans for
approximately US$300 million in cash
payable at closing, with a clear path to entire ownership within a
defined agreed time period. David
Evans will continue as a legal entity until then and its
leadership team will remain in place and employee shareholders will
remain minority shareholders in David
Evans. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions and David Evans'
shareholders' approvals, and is expected to close in the first half
of 2025.
"We are delighted to partner with the David Evans Enterprises,
Inc. team. Together our two firms significantly enhance our
geographic footprint and capabilities in a core growth market,
aligning with our US Land and Expand strategy. By leveraging our
combined strengths in the US, we are poised to drive innovation and
deliver long-term value," said Ian
Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer of
AtkinsRéalis. "For our strategy, this creates a Western US platform
on which to grow both companies, capable of delivering
comprehensive solutions to address our combined clients' most
critical challenges."
Founded in 1976 and employee-owned, David Evans is a nationally recognized services
firm known for its world-class culture, technical excellence,
innovative and sustainable design, and management and staffing
solutions. The transaction will give both businesses immediate
access and a leading position in the Western US and complements a
growing national presence. The future combination will further
strengthen AtkinsRéalis' US business by increasing its total US
workforce by approximately 25%.
David Evans generates
approximately US$275 million in
annual revenue, with over 50% of this revenue coming from the
Transportation sector. David Evans
also consistently ranks among Engineering News Record's Top 100
Pure Design firms in the United
States and is ranked in the Top 5 in the Northwest Top
Design Firms.
In addition to the complementary geographic footprint in the US,
the investment in David Evans
further strengthens AtkinsRéalis' technical capabilities in
full-scale transportation and infrastructure design. By leveraging
its combined strengths in design and project management, the
Company further increases its ability to deliver large-scale
complex projects, thus generating sustained long-term value for its
clients and the communities it serves.
David Evans is a regional leader
in transportation design and together with AtkinsRéalis' deep US
and global expertise and capabilities in transportation surface
design, will allow both firms to support the historical expansion
of large-scale infrastructure needs within the State Departments of
Transportation in the Pacific Northwest, California, and the Mountain West region.
AtkinsRéalis' industry leading rail and transit, signals and
systems design capabilities will augment David Evans' regional experience and expertise
in delivering mass transit projects to address network expansion in
the Pacific Northwest and California.
David Evans' capabilities in
water & environmental, land development, marine, survey and
geomatics, and staffing services also allows AtkinsRéalis' to
further bolster its offerings across the whole of the US with
Local, State and Federal governments and private clients.
Addressing the rapidly expanding Power & Renewables market,
David Evans' emerging capabilities
will leverage AtkinsRéalis' more than 100 years of experience in
the power sector to address the clients' needs driven by the energy
transition.
This investment brings together two uniquely positioned and
experienced companies in emergency response, staff augmentation and
management at the forefront of assisting communities coast to coast
in responding and helping to recover when natural disasters strike.
The firms share a deep understanding of clients' needs and will
immediately collaborate on projects together.
"The groundbreaking partnership between David Evans Enterprises,
Inc. and AtkinsRéalis is aligned with our strategic vision and
leverages our exceptional professional services in the Western United States and beyond", said Al
Barkouli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of David Evans
Enterprises, Inc. "With highly complementary geographical
footprints and technical expertise, this positions us as a leader
with comprehensive project execution capabilities."
"David Evans and AtkinsRéalis
thrive by prioritizing our people and leveraging world-class
talent. By promoting professional development, enhancing skills,
and engaging our team, we create a supportive environment where
excellence is a core value, opening up more opportunities for both
current and future employees", stated Steve
Morriss, President, US, Latin
America, and Minerals & Metals of AtkinsRéalis. "This
commitment to our people ensures we deliver exceptional results for
our clients and communities."
TD Securities is acting as exclusive financial advisor to
AtkinsRéalis on the transaction with legal advice being provided by
Hogan Lovells. AEC Advisors, through its registered broker-dealer
affiliate AEC Transaction Services LLC, is acting as the exclusive
financial advisor to David Evans Enterprises, Inc. on the
transaction with legal advice being provided by Tonkon Torp
LLP.
About AtkinsRéalis
Created by the integration of long-standing organizations dating
back to 1911, AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading engineering services
and nuclear company dedicated to engineering a better future for
our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that
connect people, data and technology to transform the world's
infrastructure and energy systems. We deploy global capabilities
locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services
across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting,
advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks &
cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project &
construction management, operations & maintenance,
decommissioning and capital. The breadth and depth of our
capabilities are delivered to clients in strategic sectors such as
Engineering Services, Nuclear and Capital. News and information are
available at www.atkinsrealis.com or follow us on
LinkedIn.
About David Evans
David Evans is a professional
services consulting firm with offices in the Western United States, Mississippi, New
York, and Texas.
David Evans specializes in design
for transportation, land development, energy, and water and
environmental infrastructure projects across the nation. The firm's
staff includes engineers, surveyors, hydrographers, planners,
landscape architects, and natural resources scientists.
David Evans is consistently ranked
among ENR's Top 100 Pure Design Firms in the U.S. In addition,
David Evans' staffing subsidiaries
focus on staff augmentation, contract-to-hire, and direct placement
services. www.deainc.com
Forward-Looking Statements
References in this press release to the "Company",
"AtkinsRéalis", "we", us" and "our" mean, as the context may
require, AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. or all or some
of its subsidiaries or joint arrangements or associates. Statements
made in this press release that describe the Company's expectations
or strategies, including with respect to the acquisition of a
significant controlling interest of David
Evans (the "Transaction"), constitute "forward-looking
statements" and can be identified by the use of the conditional or
forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "expects",
"forecasts", "intends", "may", "objective", "plans", "projects",
"should", "will", "likely", or other variations thereon.
Forward-looking statements also include any other statements that
do not refer to historical facts. The Company cautions that,
by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, and that its actual actions or results could differ
materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are presented for the
purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain
key elements of the Company's current objectives, strategic
priorities, expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better
understanding of the Company's business and anticipated operating
environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be
appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements made in
this press release are based on a number of assumptions believed by
the Company to be reasonable as at the date hereof and are subject
to important risks and uncertainties, including the satisfaction of
all closing conditions (which involves obtaining the required
approval from shareholders of David
Evans) and the successful completion of the Transaction
within the anticipated timeframe; management's estimates and
expectations in relation to future economic and business conditions
and other factors in relation to the Transaction and resulting
impact on growth and accretion in various financial metrics; and
the absence of significant undisclosed costs or liabilities
associated with the Transaction.
The forward-looking statements herein reflect the Company's
expectations as at the date of this press release and are subject
to change after this date. The Company does not undertake to update
publicly or to revise any such forward-looking statements whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless
required by applicable legislation or regulation. The
forward-looking information and statements contained herein are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement.
SOURCE AtkinsRéalis
