Balfour Beatty buys California contractor for £58m

Balfour Beatty has acquired California based contractor Howard S Wright for an estimated £58m.

A sum of £44m is payable up front with the rest to be paid over a five year period – conditional on the satisfaction of financial projections.

Balfour Beatty will now become the third largest construction services provider in the US as a result of its latest acquisition. In 2009 it bought out Houston-based SpawMaxwell and has experienced recent growth in Southern California through Barnhart Balfour Beatty.

The acquisition of HSW also extends Balfour Beatty’s presence to Northern California and the Pacific North-west – in line with the firm’s national expansion strategy.

Balfour Beatty will now become the third largest construction services provider in the US general building market.

HSW generated revenues of £257m and pre-tax profits of £14.6m in the year ended 30 September 2010.

The deal follows its acquisition of SpawMaxwell in Houston and its recent growth in Southern California through Barnhart Balfour Beatty.

Ian Tyler, chief executive of Balfour Beatty, said: “Howard S. Wright is a well-regarded company with a strong reputation for quality as evidenced by its blue-chip customers, and is a leader in sustainable building.

“HSW is an excellent geographic and strategic fit with our existing US capabilities, and the acquisition extends Balfour Beatty’s skill base and reach in Northern California and the US Pacific North-west, a significant growth market that is emerging from the downturn.”