Under the acquisition agreement, Coffey will pay the New Zealand-based geotechnical consultancy $4.1 million in cash and $2.2 million in shares.
Following the acquisition, FEC will trade under Coffey’s recently established entity, Coffey Geotechnics New Zealand.
“This acquisition will enable Coffey to service existing clients that have operations in New Zealand and to increase the range of services we can deliver to Foundation Engineering clients,” Coffey managing director Roger Olds said.
“There are some significant opportunities to rapidly accelerate the growth of Foundation Engineering when it is part of Coffey.”
FEC provides specialist geotechnical and laboratory services for land development and building construction projects and has three offices in the country.
According to Coffey, FEC has had a stellar past four years, with a 55% increase in net profit over the period thanks to strong revenue growth and consistent margins.
The FEC acquisition follows Coffey’s first New Zealand acquisition of project management specialists Carson Group in November last year.
Shares in Coffey were unchanged at $3.80 in trading this morning.