SNC-Lavalin sells Scandinavian unit in move away from traditional contracting
Quebec-based contractor SNC-Lavalin has announced plans to sell the Scandinavian engineering services division of its Atkins subsidiary to French consultant Systra for a little over US$100m.
The disposal is the first fruit of the company’s strategic review, which it launched in March. The aim is to move away from low-margin fixed-price contracting and become more of an engineering business specialising in projects dealing with sustainability and the energy transition.
SNC-Lavalin employs some 770 workers in Denmark, Sweden and Norway generating around $70m in revenue a year. These will be taken on by Systra, a Paris-based engineering and consulting group that specialises in public transport.
Systra said the deal would help it grow in Scandinavia and that the 770 new employees were key players in infrastructure and consultancy.
“These acquisitions are in line with our growth strategy in Europe and strongly confirm our presence in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, where governments are investing massively in transport infrastructure, particularly railways,” said Systra chief executive Pierre Verzat.
