Stantec to Acquire Select Cardno Businesses

Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, on Oct. 21 announced it has entered into share purchase agreements to acquire the North America and Asia Pacific engineering and consulting groups of Cardno Ltd. Under the terms of the acquisition, Stantec will acquire the select assets for aggregate cash consideration of $500 million.

In alignment with its strategic plan, Stantec is selectively acquiring the most strategically complementary assets of Cardno. Cardno’s Latin American operations and international development business are excluded from the acquisition.

The combined environmental services business represents 20% of Stantec’s pro forma net revenues and augments Stantec’s position as a leader in sustainability, growing its U.S. environmental services practice by more than 60% and increasing its exposure to the $9 trillion in spending on ecosystem restoration that the United Nations forecasts by 2030.

The combined infrastructure business represents 30% of Stantec’s pro forma net revenues and bolsters Stantec’s position to benefit from global stimulus spending in key geographies. The deal adds approximately 2,750 professionals in regions and sectors that align with Stantec’s growth objectives, including nearly doubling Stantec’s Australia footprint to 2,500 employees.

The deal increases Stantec’s U.S. footprint to 10,500 employees. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2021.

“Stantec’s global leadership in sustainability will be further augmented by the passion and entrepreneurism of Cardno’s professionals who, like us, work at the intersection between clients, science, and innovation to solve the ever-evolving challenges confronting communities around the world,” said Gord Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We have worked closely with Cardno for many years. Cardno Group CEO, Susan Reisbord and her team have done a remarkable job in transforming their organization and returning Cardno to a strong growth path. The timing couldn’t be better to welcome their team to Stantec and grow together. Cardno’s key strengths in ecosystem restoration, health sciences, infrastructure, water, and government services are completely complementary to Stantec’s offerings in these growing sectors of the United States and Australia. Together, we will continue to set the standard for sustainable design and climate change mitigation.”

“Joining Stantec offers a tremendous opportunity to the people of both companies to accelerate our combined growth given how complementary our strengths are in the regions we operate,” Reisbord said. “Our combined Australian operations will strengthen our position as a top tier engineering and design firm there, and this will open new opportunities for us. As this process has played out, the one thing that has been striking is the commonality between our values and cultures.”

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