19. September 2017
On Monday 10 July the companies signed a share purchase agreement, after a successful due diligence process that gained the approval of the boards of Multiconsult and Hjellnes Holding AS. Payment will consist of a combination of cash and Multiconsult shares. The acquisitions are due to be completed by the end of September 2017.
“We have followed Hjellnes Consult and Johs Holt closely for a number of years, and we are impressed by what they, their management teams and employees have achieved. Combining Hjellnes Consult, Johs Holt and Multiconsult makes strategic sense, and will create great opportunities for both organisations,” says Multiconsult’s CEO Christian Nørgaard Madsen.
“70 years after Hjellnes Consult was founded, the time is ripe to prepare for our next stage of growth and development in a market that is constantly changing – both in terms of its structure and the competitive landscape. We can do that by becoming part of Multiconsult,” say Geir Knudsen and Gunnar Egset, the managing directors of Hjellnes Consult and Johs Holt respectively. Together with Multiconsult we will be in an even better position to continue growing, while retaining our fundamental values and cutting edge expertise, which will benefit of both our customers and staff.”
A powerhouse in Eastern Norway
In the Oslo region, Multiconsult and Hjellnes have a similar number of engineers working in their technical disciplines and business areas, and their organisations complement one other. The various disciplines are largely complementary both in terms of expertise and capacity. By drawing on their joint customer base, they will be able to create an engineering powerhouse with a strong market position in Eastern Norway.
More competitive
Both sides are confident that the companies are a good fit, at the strategic, technical and cultural levels. Multiconsult and the Hjellnes Group have worked in the same industry for a long time. Over the years, they have worked very successfully together on a number of exciting projects, and they are currently collaborating on high-profile, prestigious projects like Campus Ås and Tønsberg hospital.
By joining forces, they will increase their interdisciplinary capacity and expertise in core areas such as buildings and properties, transportation and water and environment. Multiconsult wishes to exploit this by increasing its market share and becoming even more competitive in its strategic priority areas of urban development and health care facilities, in line with its 3-2-1 GO strategy for the period leading up to 2020.
Johs Holt’s engineers have an excellent reputation as specialists in bridge structures, and combining them with Multiconsult’s resources will reinforce our position in the transportation market and provide a springboard for future growth.
About the Hjellnes Group
Hjellnes Consult offers interdisciplinary engineering services. The company has strong expertise in buildings and properties, land use planning, transportation and environmental engineering. Johs Holt offers consulting engineering services for all types of bridges and heavy structures. The Hjellnes Group employs around 230 people and has offices in central Oslo. For more information see www.hjellnesconsult.no and www.johsholt.no
About Multiconsult
Multiconsult is one of the leading firms of consulting engineers, designers and architects in Norway. The company offers interdisciplinary consultancy, design, architecture, project supervision, management, verification and inspection – in Norway and around the world. The company has around 2,450 employees spread across over 45 offices in Norway and overseas. Multiconsult ASA is listed on Oslo Børs. For more information see www.multiconsult.no.