-->

Black & Veatch to sell Water Europe, Water Asia businesses to overseas environmental consultancy

By Madison Parry

Locally headquartered global engineering firm Black & Veatch has reached agreement to sell its Water Europe and Water Asia businesses to UK-based RSK Group Ltd. The deal will be finalized in early 2021 and includes all employees, contracts, leases and other assets of each entity.

A deal that will see the transfer of Black & Veatch’s Water Europe and Water Asia businesses is expected to close over the next several weeks.

Overland Park-based Black & Veatch announced it is in the process of finalizing a deal to sell the two businesses to UK-based corporation RSK Group Ltd.

The deal will give RSK around 1,200 employees and will provide an estimated $212 million in annual revenue. A price for this purchase remains undisclosed.

Included in the sell are UK-based Black & Veatch Ltd., Black & Veatch Hong Kong Ltd. and Black & Veatch PTE Ltd. in Singapore, according to a news release from RSK.

“This transaction will not impact Black & Veatch Management Consulting or our Oil & Gas and Power businesses. These businesses continue to seek opportunities to grow our footprint in the UK, Europe and across the Asia Pacific region. Similarly, our water operations in North America, South America, Australia, India and New Zealand will remain Black & Veatch entities,” Black & Veatch CEO Steve Edwards and the company’s President of Water Business, Cindy Wallis-Lage, wrote.

Under RSK, existing management and employees with remain, but under a new brand: Binnies.

“The addition of Binnies will increase the overall RSK headcount from 4300 to 5500 employees worldwide,” RSK wrote in the release. “It will expand the number of countries in which RSK is present from 27 to 31 and significantly add to RSK’s existing Asian footprint.”

RSK is the UK’s largest privately owned environmental consultancy and is one the fastest growing companies of its kind in Europe.