Deal will take another two weeks to complete

Negotiations to complete the sale of parts of 850-strong ground engineer Roger Bullivant to Vinci subsidiary Soletanche Bachy will take another two weeks to complete.

Roger Bullivant confirmed the principle of a sale had been agreed in a statement last week, but Building understands the price and the exact scope of the sale is yet to be finalised.

It is thought Soletanche Bachy, the French parent of the UK’s Bachy Soletanche, will only purchase the geo-technical division of Bullivant, leaving the pre-cast and plant hire businesses.

Founder Roger Bullivant, now 72, who is thought to have been looking to sell the business for some time, said: “This sale, to a company as large as Soletanche Bachy, will safeguard its future in south Derbyshire and ensure that the firm can continue to go from strength to strength while securing the ongoing position for the loyal employees who have been part of the Roger Bullivant family.” Bullivant has seen its turnover halve since 2007 to £66m in its latest accounts in 2009.
In a statement, the UK managing director of Bachy Soletanche, Martin Pratt, said the deal would be finalised in “early July.”

Paul Hodgson, business development manager at the firm, said: “Bullivant is active in markets we’re not - they’re strong in small diameter piling, where we tend to work in larger schemes.”

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