Amec and Foster Wheeler merge in friendly $3.2-bn deal

Gas and engineering project management company Amec has acquired its Swiss rival Foster Wheeler AG in a friendly $3.2 billion deal to form Amec Foster Wheeler PLC.

Foster Wheeler, which is based in Zug, Switzerland for tax purposes and has its headquarters in Reading, UK

The creation of Amec Foster Wheeler, with a staff of over 40,000 staff worldwide and an order book worth £6.3 billion, comes after the announcement of a deal in February for the  acquisition of Foster Wheeler by Amec for $3.2 billion US dollars, after a year of on-and-off talks (See: Amec to acquire Swiss rival Foster Wheeler for $3.13 bn).

With the acquisition, Amec, which has a 28,500 strong workforce in the energy, mining and infrastructure sectors, would be able to double its revenues from growth regions outside its heartland of Europe and the Americas.  Foster Wheeler accounts for a workforce of 13,000.

Foster Wheeler was formed in 1927 from a merger of two US-based companies, the Power Specialty Company and the Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company, whose roots go back to 1891.

The new company's operations would span across the whole of the oil and gas industry - from production through to refining, processing and distribution of derivative products - and in the mining, clean energy, power generation, pharma, environment and infrastructure markets.

According to Amec chief executive Samir Brikho, who will be the CEO of combined company, "In creating our new company we are building on the proud heritage, skills and customer relationships of two already successful and highly respected businesses."

Houston would be the hub of the new entity's Americas business unit, to be headed by Simon Naylor who will report to CEO Samir Brikho.

Amec Foster Wheeler designs, which delivers and maintains strategic and complex infrastructure assets across the energy industry and related sectors worldwide, has a strong presence across the oil and gas sector, which accounted for 56 per cent of its revenue based on 2013 pro-forma numbers.

The company has a presence in other major sectors including clean energy, environment and infrastructure, power generation and mining.

Prior to the merger the two companies had annualised annualised revenue of $8.65 billion.