By Ilaria Grasso Macola
Engineering firm WSP has snatched environmental consulting group RPS for £591m, at 117p per share.
Agreed by both parties today, the offer sent RPS shares surging by 74.36 per cent as it represents a premium of 76 per cent on yesterday’s price.
The group’s board accepted the offer, considering the terms of the agreement to “be fair and reasonable.”
“This is a compelling offer from WSP which fully values the business and its future prospects,” said RPS chairman Ken Lever.
“It represents a highly attractive premium to recent trading levels and provides certain value in cash today for RPS Shareholders.”
For its part, Montreal-based WSP said the takeover was “strategically compelling” and allowed it to “provide a broader range of complementary services.”
The news comes as RPS posted its half-year results today, which exceeded board expectations.
Profit before tax went up to £11.1m, 56 per cent up on last year’s levels, while revenue grew by 18 per cent to £319.5m.
“There are several key market drivers in our favour and the hard work we have done means we are well positioned to take advantage of these,” commented chief executive John Douglas.
Looking ahead, RPS expects its momentum to continue in the second half of the year despite inflationary and macroeconomic pressures.
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