Through its U.S. subsidiary Turner, Hochtief is purchasing the majority (51 percent) of Canadian construction company Clark Builders of Edmonton. With this move, the company is forging ahead into an attractive growth market. Specializing in the construction of institutional, recreational, pre-engineered infrastructural buildings, multi-unit residential commercial and industrial projects in western and northern Canada, Clark Builders is expanding. The agreement will take effect on November 2, 2011. The value of the agreement is EUR 49.91 million (CAD 68 million), plus performance-based payments earned over the next five years.
With a workforce of more than 700, Clark Builders generated annual sales of EUR 361.13 million (CAD 492 million) last year. On the reporting date, the company’s order backlog stood at EUR 540.96 million (CAD 737 million). Established in 1974, Clark Builders is owned by employees of the company, who continue to hold 49 percent of its shares. The company is recognized as one of Canada‘s 50 best managed companies and one of Canada’s 50 best employers. Clark Builders provides general contracting, design/build and construction management services of structural concrete and pre-engineered buildings as well as architectural metal cladding services. This means the company operates in the same market segments as Hochtief’s subsidiary Turner in the United States. Clark Builders is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta and has branches in Calgary, Yellowknife (Northern Territories), and Saskatoon (Saskatchewan).
"Clark Builders is excellently positioned in Canada and expanding. In partnership with Turner, we can accelerate this expansion," says Dr. Frank Stieler, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hochtief, explaining the rationale behind the acquisition.
The Canadian economy is growing robustly and construction is booming: Investments of up to EUR 15 billion (CAD 20 billion) are slated for new public and private-sector projects over the next three years. Public-private partnerships have already become an established business model. Such rapid growth is being met by only a handful of qualified construction companies.
"There’s a lot of room for an expanding provider such as Clark Builders, also given the support it will be receiving from the U.S. market leader Turner," added Dr. Frank Stieler. Hochtief is additionally flanked in Canada’s infrastructure sector and PPP projects by its U.S. subsidiary Flatiron.
