Deals

SNC-Lavalin Steps Up Deal Push With $2.6 Billion Atkins Bid

Pact would decrease Canadian builder’s reliance on oil and gas
Share sale would be needed to fund acquisition, analyst says

Cranes tower over buildings under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 23, 2008.
Photographer: Carlos Cazalis/Bloomberg

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By Phil Serafino and Frederic Tomesco

April 3, 2017 at 12:37 PM UTC

Updated on

April 3, 2017 at 7:43 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is holding talks to buy WS Atkins Plc of the U.K. for 2.08 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) as Canada’s biggest engineering and construction company looks to expand its global reach with a record acquisition.

The Montreal-based builder made a tentative offer of 2,080 pence a share, “a level that the board would be prepared to recommend,” Atkins said in a statement after a surge in its stock price. SNC confirmed the approach in a separate filing.