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WSP Global

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WSP Global Inc. is a Canadian consulting firm working mostly in the built environment. It was created in 2012, following Montreal-based Genivar's takeover of British firm WSP Group plc. It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. After the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff in October 2014, WSP effectively became one of the largest professional services firms in the world, with approximately 73,300[1] employees in 500 offices serving in 40 countries.

WSP Global Inc.
Company typePublic
TSX: WSP
S&P/TSX Composite Component
IndustryDesign, Engineering & Construction consulting, Environmental consulting, Professional services, Town planning
PredecessorGenivar Inc.

WSP Group plc

Parsons Brinckerhoff
Founded1959; 65 years ago (1959)
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
Key people
Alexandre J. L'Heureux
(President and CEO)
RevenueC$14.44 billion (2023)[1]
Number of employees
73,300 (2024)[2]
Websitewww.wsp.com
WSP office in Markham, Ontario, Canada
WSP USA offices in New York City.

History

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Origins of WSP

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Williams Sale Partnership was established in 1969 in England by Chris Cole, Geoffrey Williams, John Sale, and Geoffrey Middleton.[3] In 1976, it was a founding member of the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA). It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987.[3]

In the 1990s, the company expanded both domestically and internationally, forming WSP Asia in 1995, incorporating Graham Group and T P O'Sullivan and Partners in 1997, acquiring US practices Cantor Seinuk and Flack + Kurtz in 2000, as well as buying Jacobson & Widmark (J&W) in Sweden in 2001 (J&W was founded in 1938), LT Consultants Oyj and EMP Projects Oyj in Finland in 2003 and PHB Group in the UAE in 2005.[3]

Genivar

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After acquiring three firms and expanding geographically in 1993, the name of the Canadian firm GBGM was changed to Genivar Inc.[4]

In August 2011, Genivar Inc. and Montreal-based architectural firm ARCOP announced an alliance.

Takeover

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On 7 June 2012, Genivar made a friendly takeover cash offer of £278 million (C$442 million) for WSP Group plc, headquartered in London. The offer was backed by WSP's board of directors as well as investors holding 37% of the company's shares, and the takeover was completed on 1 August 2012.[5][6][7] This merger created a professional-services firm with approximately 15,000 employees, working in over 300 offices worldwide.[8]

The company reorganised its corporate structure on 1 January 2014, to create a parent company named WSP Global Inc. and adopted the common brand of WSP.[9]

Subsequent acquisitions

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In October 2014, WSP completed the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff from Balfour Beatty for US$1.24 billion.[10] The company has a network of approximately 170 offices and nearly 13,500 employees on five continents[11] and became a wholly owned independent subsidiary.[12] Together, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the largest professional services firms in the world with approximately 32,000 employees in 500 offices serving 39 countries.

In early 2015, WSP announced plans to expand to 45,000 employees by 2020.[13] In October 2016, WSP purchased Mouchel Consulting from the Kier Group for approximately £75 million.[14]

In January 2017, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff announced that it would assume the name "WSP", effective from May 2017.[15] In August 2017, WSP made a takeover bid for Opus International Consultants.[16]

In July 2018, WSP announced its intention to buy Berger Group Holdings Inc., parent of the group of companies operating under the name of Louis Berger Group, a Morristown, N.J.-based international professional-services firm, for $400 million.[17]

In February 2020, WSP acquired US-based environmental consulting firm LT Environmental (LTE).[18] On December 3, 2020, WSP acquired Canadian-based geotechnical, earth-science, and environmental consulting firm Golder for $1.14 billion.[19]

On June 1, 2022, WSP announced an agreement of sale with Wood Group plc for the Environment & Infrastructure group (E&I) part of its business. The £1.6 bn acquisition was concluded in September 2022.[20] In August 2022, WSP made an unsuccessful takeover offer to purchase RPS Group for £591 million.[21][22][23] In September 2022, RPS received a counter takeover offer from Tetra Tech for £636 million[24] with WSP opting not to increase its bid.[25] RPS' shareholders voted to accept the Tetra Tech offer in November 2022.[26]

In December 2022, WSP announced plans to acquire a 700-person Swiss engineering firm, BG Consulting Engineers, based in Lausanne with offices in France, Portugal and Italy.[27]

In August 2024, WSP announced plans to acquire 4000-person US based consulting engineering firm, POWER Engineers, based in Hailey, Idaho with over 50 offices around the US and Canada for US$1.78 billion.[28][29]

Projects

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WSP projects include:

References

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  1. ^ a b "WSP 2023 Annual Report". WSP Global. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Home page". WSP Global. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Building Magazine, The Long Haul". Retrieved 3 April 2008.
  4. ^ "History". WSP. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  5. ^ Van Praet, Nicolas (7 June 2012). "Genivar bids for WSP Group as Quebec firms continue Europe takeover binge". Financial Post. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Genivar's $442 million WSP Group PLC takeover, no job cuts". The Gazette. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  7. ^ "GENIVAR and WSP Group join forces to become a global professional services firm with world-class expertise". GENIVAR Inc. (GNV). TMX Group. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  8. ^ "GENIVAR Inc Completes Acquisition Of WSP Group PLC". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  9. ^ "GENIVAR Completes Corporate Reorganization, Rebrands to WSP and Appoints a New Director" (Press release). 2 January 2014.
  10. ^ Stynes, Tess (3 September 2014). "Balfour Beatty to Sell Parsons Brinckerhoff to WSP Global". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017 – via online.wsj.com.
  11. ^ "WSP to Acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff, a Leading Global Professional Services Firm With a Deep Expertise in Infrastructure". Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Press Releases". wspgroup.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014.
  13. ^ Nicolas Van Praet (20 January 2015). "Engineering consultancy firm WSP Global soars to new heights". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. ^ Rhiannon Bury (12 October 2016). "Kier Banks £40m as it offloads consultancy business to WSP". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  15. ^ "WSP PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF REBRANDING AS WSP". wsp-pb.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Canada's WSP Global makes takeover bid for NZ's Opus International". Stuff.co.nz. 14 August 2017.
  17. ^ Rubin, Debra. "WSP Global Will Acquire Louis Berger for $400 Million". Engineering News-Record (ENR). BNP Media. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  18. ^ "WSP Acquires LT Environmental". Tunnel Business Magazine. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  19. ^ "WSP to Acquire Golder Creating the Leading Global Environmental Consulting Firm". Yahoo!Finance. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  20. ^ "WSP completes £1.6bn John Wood E&I acquisition". The Construction Index. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  21. ^ Prior, Grant (9 August 2022). "WSP to buy consultant RPS Group for £591m". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  22. ^ "RPS board backs WSP takeover offer". The Construction Index. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  23. ^ WSP agrees deals to buy out RPS New Civil Engineer 9 August 2022
  24. ^ Prior, Grant (26 September 2022). "US consultant trumps WSP bid for RPS Group". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  25. ^ Prior, Grant (11 October 2022). "WSP declines to enter bidding war for RPS Group". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  26. ^ Results of Court Meeting and General Meeting RPS Group 3 November 2022
  27. ^ "WSP to acquire leading Swiss engineering firm". The Construction Index. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  28. ^ "WSP to Acquire Power Engineers Setting a Milestone for Accelerated Growth". Wspglobal.
  29. ^ "POWER Signs Merger Agreement with WSP".
  30. ^ "Durley Chine". 14 March 2024.
  31. ^ Waite, Richard (20 May 2020). "WilkinsonEyre wins go-ahead for Old Oak Common HS2 'super-hub'". The Architects’ Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  32. ^ "NGOs push for Montréal-based firm to be added to UN database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements". Canadian Dimension. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  33. ^ "CITY RAIL LINK". wsp.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
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