SNC-Lavalin acquires natural gas engineering group Kentz

SNC-Lavalin has completed its acquisition of Kentz, a global company with 15,500 employees operating in 36 countries, the companies announced on Friday.

Kentz provides industry-leading engineering, construction management and technical support services to clients in the oil and gas sector, according to SNC-Lavalin officials.

SNC-Lavalin says the acquisition of Kentz supports its ongoing transformation into a global Tier-1 engineering and construction (E&C) company.

The transaction creates a group with approximately 45,000 employees, annual revenues of about C$10 billion and a backlog of roughly C$13 billion as per 2013 figures.

The combined company will also have a strong position in the growth markets, including the Middle East, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

"SNC-Lavalin is thrilled to welcome the employees of Kentz, who are the heart and soul of the remarkable company we are acquiring today," said Robert G. Card, CEO of SNC-Lavalin. "We expect that our combined capabilities will give us one of the best broad-based service offerings in the E&C industry, while expanding our presence in key growth markets."

The acquisition of Kentz transforms SNC-Lavalin's oil and gas capabilities, creating a group of approximately 20,000 employees with expertise for large and complex projects in the upstream, liquefied natural gas (LNG), unconventional (shale gas and oil sands), pipelines, offshore jackets and steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) sectors.

Kentz will be incorporated into SNC-Lavalin while simultaneously integrating SNC-Lavalin's current oil and gas business into Kentz's operations. Christian Brown , Kentz's CEO, now becomes president of the oil and gas business of SNC-Lavalin. Brown will continue to be stationed in Houston and report directly to Neil Bruce .

"Joining SNC-Lavalin will provide us with the ability to execute larger scopes for major projects, and enhance our access to new geographies in both North America and Latin America," said Brown. "We look forward to bringing our clients complete end-to-end solutions for their projects by merging SNC-Lavalin's strong front-end engineering and design capabilities with our industry-leading construction management, commissioning and operations capabilities."

SNC-Lavalin paid £9.35 (C$17.13) per share for a total purchase price of approximately £1.2 billion (C$2.1 billion).

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