Groundworks firm expands down under with acquisition of 拢31m-turnover Waterfront Services
Groundworks specialist Keller has bought 拢31m-turnover Australian marine ground engineering specialist Waterfront Services for 拢21m.
Keller said that the deal, which could rise in value by a further 拢6.8m depending on future profits, could see Waterfront boost its presence beyond New South Wales and into other Australian territories through 鈥渟trong demand for both land and near-shore marine based foundation services鈥�.
Keller chief executive Justin Atkinson said: 鈥淎s the demand for a combination of land and marine-based foundation services continues to grow, we are delighted that in future customers of Keller Australia will be able to benefit from a packaged solution which meets this need.鈥�
The deal follows a profit warning by Keller last month that blamed tougher competition and poor weather in the US, and which saw its shares fall 21% from a high of 783p to 620p. They have not recovered and this morning fell 3% to 566p at the news of the acquisition.
Cenkos Securities analyst Kevin Cammack said: 鈥淚t looks a sensible deal strategically, but the main fear will be that it is buying close to the top of the Aussie cycle and paying a full price if growth is not achieved.鈥�
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