May 2018 Vol 73 No. 5
Business
Primoris Services to Acquire Willbros Group
Primoris Services Corporation, one of the largest publicly traded specialty construction and infrastructure companies in the US., has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Willbros Group Inc.
In an all-cash transaction, Primoris will pay $0.60 per share for the outstanding stock of Willbros and will settle all existing Willbros debt obligations, for an enterprise value of approximately $100 million. This includes Primoris providing Willbros with up to $20 million in secured bridge financing to support working capital liquidity needs prior to the transaction close, which is expected in the second quarter of 2018.
Willbros is a specialty energy infrastructure contractor serving the oil & gas and power industries with comprehensive engineering, construction, maintenance, repair and restoration solutions, across three operating segments: Utility Transmission and Distribution (UTD), Oil & Gas, and Canada.
Serving diverse end-markets, Dallas-based Primoris provides a wide range of construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, water and wastewater, and engineering services. Customers include major public utilities, petrochemical companies, energy companies, municipalities, and state departments of transportation across North America.
Upon completion of the transaction, Primoris expects to incorporate Willbros operations as follows:
- UTD segment will become a new operating segment, Primoris UTD, continuing the strategic plan for growing Primoris’ Master
- Service Agreement revenue base.
- Lineal Oil & Gas operations will become part of Primoris’ Utilities & Distribution segment.
- Houston-based Oil & Gas facilities will become part of Primoris’ Pipeline & Underground segment.
- Canadian business will become part of Primoris’ Power, Industrial and Engineering segment.
David King, president and CEO of Primoris, is optimistic about near- and long-term opportunities: “Consistent with our strategic priority of expanding our diverse capabilities through disciplined acquisitions, we believe that the acquisition will provide enhanced returns for our stockholders, and can be accomplished without placing stress on our balance sheet.
“We are particularly excited about adding the UTD business and its electric-focused solutions, which are highly complementary to our natural gas utility service offerings,” he added.
Willbros sees “significant synergies and opportunities” in the transaction. “We believe the broad, national presence of Primoris will allow us additional opportunities for growth,” said Michael Fournier, president and CEO. “We anticipate that our businesses will benefit from the stability provided by Primoris’ solid balance sheet and access to capital.”
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