Balfour Beatty has announced it has sold its engineering and design consultancy subsidiary Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) to WSP Global, Canada, for £820 million, or roughly US$1.35 billion.
The deal, first announced Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014, is subject to approval by Balfour Beatty shareholders, and the transaction will also need to be cleared by British competition authorities. The sale price assumes that US$110 million in cash remains in New York-based Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Balfour Beatty says the sale will allow it to focus on restoring the value of its British construction businesses and pursue growth opportunities elsewhere in the world.
PB was acquired by Balfour Beatty in September 2009 for £382 million.