WSP presses ahead with Arcadis offer

WSP has reconfirmed its intention to pursue Arcadis, in a mandatory four-week update required under Dutch public offer rules.

Issued on 20 August, the update follows the company’s announcement on 24 July of an intended offer for the entire issued and outstanding share capital of Arcadis NV.

WSP said the Arcadis boards have not engaged with it on its proposals despite multiple invitations over several months. The rationale for a deal can only be fully realised through a negotiated transaction, supported by those boards, it says.

The company will proceed with preparing an offer memorandum, which it intends to submit to the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets for review and approval no later than 15 October.

WSP said the acquisition would create greater scale and a more balanced platform across North America, Europe and Australia. The industrial logic has strengthened as clients seek partners with broader technical capability and global delivery, the company says.

Environment Analyst data indicates Arcadis’ environmental and sustainability (E&S) consulting services are well diversified across climate change and energy, contaminated site assessment/remediation, EHS, impact assessment and water quality and resource management.

Arcadis generates more annual E&S consulting revenue than previous major WSP acquisition targets such as TRC Companies, Wood’s E&I business and Golder.

Stantec buys Sydney ecology specialist Niche

Stantec has acquired Niche, a 200-person environmental consultancy headquartered in Sydney, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Ausecology.

Niche works in ecology, heritage, natural capital and land restoration, with a strong presence on Australia’s east coast. Ausecology specialises in ecology, biodiversity offsetting and land restoration.

Stantec said biodiversity consulting is a new service for the company.

The deal takes the company’s Australian environmental services team to nearly 450 professionals, with a presence in every mainland state.

Niche serves around 200 clients, with little overlap with Stantec’s existing base.

APEM to acquire Australian approvals consultancy, Resource Strategies

APEM, the environmental services division of Applus+, has agreed to acquire Resource Strategies, an independent environmental approvals consultancy in Australia.

Resource Strategies has 29 years of experience across complex environmental approvals, major project coordination, strategic environmental advice, and operational, rehabilitation and closure support.

APEM said the deal reflects continued investment in Australia by Applus+ and its aim to build a leading environmental intelligence and advisory business in the region.

The country is an acquisition hotspot at present: SLR acquired Hydrobiology and WSP and RSK both acquired ecology consultancies there this summer.

Since 2023, Environment Analyst has tracked more than 30 acquisitions that provide E&S consulting services in Australia. Combined, they generate over $400m in revenues from E&S activity.

Veritas Capital to buy Trinity Consultants from Oak Hill

Veritas Capital has agreed to acquire Trinity Consultants from Oak Hill Capital. Oak Hill will reinvest in the business and remain a minority shareholder. Meanwhile, Trinity’s management team and wider employee base will keep a meaningful ownership stake.

Founded in 1974, Trinity works in environmental health and safety regulatory compliance, the built environment, life sciences, and water and ecology.

It has clients worldwide, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare and data centre operators.

Veritas said it will support Trinity’s strategy to grow accounts, invest in technology and expand capability through acquisitions.

Arcadis and Everbridge partner on climate risk assessment

Arcadis has formed a strategic partnership with Everbridge, a critical event management and public warning software provider, to help organisations assess and reduce climate risk across their operations, facilities and supply chains.

The first offering under the partnership is climate risk assessment. It combines multi-hazard climate data with asset and operational context, and is designed to help clients quantify potential impacts and prioritise adaptation measures.

The two companies said they are exploring further work spanning climate adaptation, advanced analytics, operational response planning and risk transfer.