Design and engineering firm Aecom could bolster its current $1bn acquisition spree with new buyouts in the Middle East, its regional head has said.
The US firm, which last week paid $324 million for construction consultancy Davis Langdon, would eye firms that could boost its regional footprint, said David Barwell.
Barwell, chief executive for the region said: “We are always on the lookout, though there isn’t anything specifically on the horizon. But if something comes along, then yes, we will consider it. If you look at our service offering, I think we are pretty much all there. If we were to target anything, it would be in other regions in the Middle East.”
Aecom earlier this month agreed to buy McNeil Technologies for $355 million from private equity firm Veritas Capital. In July, it paid $245 million for Tishman Construction Corp, the firm behind the original World Trade Center. It also acquired Inocsa in May.
In the wake of the Davis Langdon deal, Aecom has 3,600 employees across the Middle East; 1,600 of which are based in the UAE.
Barwell also said: “We’ve been growing the business successfully, about 20 percent per annum and that’s been 50 percent through acquisition and 50 percent through organic growth.”
He continued: “The acquisitions we’ve made have significantly grown the business we’ve been very successful in making one plus one, equal more than two.”
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