An April 3 bid by Canada-based global design giant SNC-Lavalin to buy U.K. engineer Atkins, valued at $2.6 billion, has been confirmed by both firms’ boards and further indicates a resurgence in industry sector consolidation, observers say.
With a federal agreement last month that resolves seven years of illegal campaign contributions in Canada by former executives, Montreal-based design-construction giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. moves closer to final resolution of its past regime’s ethics issues that have dogged the firm for nearly five years.