19th Mar 2007 07:01
Atkins (WS) PLC19 March 2007 19 March 2007 Atkins announces defence consultancy acquisition WS Atkins plc (Atkins) today announces the acquisition of Advantage BusinessGroup Limited (Advantage), an independent defence consultancy. Advantage hasbeen acquired for a consideration of £19.4 million, of which £15.25 million hasbeen paid in cash and £4.15 million through the issue of loan notes, £1.7million of which are redeemable after 18 months and £2.45 million after threeyears. Advantage has particular expertise in through-life capability management,complementing Atkins' existing skills in defence systems engineering. Atkinswill integrate Advantage into its Design & Engineering Solutions business. The combined business will be well placed to provide independent systemsengineering and project management support to Government and industry fordefence projects. The Ministry of Defence's recent Defence Industry Strategyidentified increasing need for these skills to support the successful deliveryof key defence projects. Advantage employs approximately 180 staff, primarily from offices in Farnham andBristol. The acquisition brings the total number of staff working on similardefence projects to approximately 700. Ivor Catto, Managing Director of Atkins' Design & Engineering Solutions businesssaid: "We are pleased to be able to combine the Advantage and Atkinscapabilities to broaden our systems engineering skills and strengthen ourthrough-life capability management in order to serve our customers better." - Ends - ENQUIRIES:Robert MacLeod 01372 726140Group Finance DirectorBen Thompson 01372 752154Head of Press Office NOTES TO EDITORS: Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) plans, designs and enables the delivery of complexcapital programmes for clients in the public and private sectors across theglobe. Atkins is the largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe; thelargest engineering consultancy in the UK; and the world's third largest designfirm. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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