Engineering Inc. - November/December 2015 - (Page 52)
Mergers and Acquisitions
BY N E I L C H U R M A N
Three Things Every First-Time Buyer Should Do
W
hile some industry
negotiating the deal is only
firms have made
half the battle. For many
mergers and acquisibuyers, the real work comes
tions (M&A) a regular part of
during integration. First-time
their growth strategy, the majorbuyers should consider their
ity of firms largely remain on the
own operations and systems
M&A sidelines. At some point,
and how prepared they are to
though, many firms will decide
combine them with a potento take the plunge and pursue
tial acquisition. Issues such as
an acquisition.
project management, human
We've seen more than 100
resources and information
firms strike their first deal so
technology can often be the
far in 2015. It's important to
most challenging components
remember that even the firms
of the initial integration.
that are the most experienced
The list of things first-time
and successful at M&A were
buyers need to consider is long,
once first-time buyers. If your
but if firms ready to embark on
firm is considering growing
their first deal keep these critical
through acquisition, here
items in mind, they'll be better
are three critical things you
positioned to make their deal a
should do.
success.
● Start with strategy. Firms
pursue M&A for a multitude
Recent ACEC Deal-Makers
of reasons. Some are seeking to OCTOBER 2015
capitalize on market growth,
ACEC Member KJWW Engineering Consultants (Rock
some are seeking to shore up
capabilities and resources,
Island, Ill.) and TTG Engineers
and some join up to be more
(Pasadena, Calif.) have merged
competitive in their current
to create a 900-employee workmarkets. Firms need to have a
force spread across 25 national
clearly defined strategic ratioand five international locations.
nale for pursuing M&A, with
buy-in for that strategy among SEPTEMBER 2015
the firm's leadership team.
ACEC Member Weidlinger
● Stay grounded. For many
Associates (New York City),
first-time buyers, rosy projecwhich specializes in structural
tions and ambitious growth
engineering, merged with ACEC
goals can cloud judgment,
Member Thornton Tomasetti
which can lead to overpaying
(New York City), a provider of
and subsequent results fallengineering design, investigation
ing short of expectations. All
and analysis. The combined firm
buyers, especially first-timers,
will have 1,200 employees.
need to establish a supportACEC Member WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff (Montreal,
able financial model for the
deal that includes some degree Canada) acquired structural
of contingency should things
engineering firm Halvorson and
Partners (Chicago).
not go as planned. Moreover,
buyers need to set their "walk
ACEC Member Johnson,
away" point for the deal, which Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT)
is the maximum price they are (Sparks, Md.) signed a letter
willing to pay.
of intent to acquire Tidewa● Set the table. Identifying and
ter Environmental Services
52
ENGINEERING INC.
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015
■ To
view the most up-to-date and "live" versions of the
M&A heat maps, and to see the buyers and sellers in each
state, go to www.morrisseygoodale.com.
■ Watch
the M&A Takeaway video that accompanies
this article, presented by Mick Morrissey, at
www.morrisseygoodale.com/ACECMergers/NovDec2015.
(Charleston, S.C.), a natural
resources consulting firm.
The acoustics team of Wright
Consulting Associates (Indianapolis, Ind.) joined ACEC
Member KJWW Engineering
Consultants (Rock Island, Ill.),
an engineering consulting firm
specializing in the health care,
education and industrial building
markets.
ACEC Member SvR Design
Company (Seattle) joined multidisciplinary planning and design
firm MIG (Berkeley, Calif.). SvR's
32-person staff will become the
Seattle office of MIG.
ACEC Member Independent
Mapping Consultants (Charlotte, N.C.) acquired Carolina
Resource Mapping (Wilmington, N.C.), which specializes in
mapping services for transportation and public sector clients.
AUGUST 2015
Stantec (Edmonton, Canada)
signed a letter of intent to
acquire Fay, Spofford &
Thorndike (Burlington, Mass.),
an engineering, planning and
environmental firm. Both are
ACEC members. Stantec
also acquired VA Consulting
(Irvine, Calif.), a community
development, transportation
and water engineering firm.
ACEC Member WSP Global
(Montreal, Canada) entered
into an agreement to acquire
2,000-person MMM Group
(Thornhill, Canada), which specializes in transportation, infrastructure and the environment.
ACEC Members Alfred
Benesch & Company (Chicago), a transportation and
infrastructure firm, and
Tucker, Young, Jackson, Tull
(Detroit), an environmental
and civil engineering firm, have
merged.
ACEC Member Black &
Veatch (Overland Park, Kan.)
acquired RCC Consultants
(Woodbridge, N.J.), a global
telecommunications firm.
ACEC Members David
Evans and Associates (Portland, Ore.) and Triad (Woodinville, Wash.), a multidisciplinary
design firm, have merged.
Neil Churman is principal
consultant of Morrissey Goodale
LLC-a strategy, M&A and
human capital solutions firm
serving the A/E/C industry.
Churman, who is based in
the firm's Houston office, can
be reached at nchurman@
morrisseygoodale.com.
http://www.morrisseygoodale.com
http://www.morrisseygoodale.com/ACECMergers/NovDec2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - November/December 2015
Engineering Inc. - November/December 2015
Contents
From ACEC to You
Market Watch
Legislative Action
Traveling Smart
Idustry Drone Use Taking Flight
Back to Life
Economic Power of Employee Engagement
Young Professionals of the Year
Market Driven
2015 Fall Conference
Guest Column
Guest Column
Business Insights
Members in the News
Mergers and Acquisitions
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