Canadian-headquartered firm WSP has reached an agreement with the board of RPS Group plc to acquire UK-based consulting firm RPS.
Founded in 1970 and built on a legacy of environmental and social engagement, WSP described RPS as “a diversified and well-recognized global professional services firm.”
As an established technology-enabled consultancy that operates across a range of sectors, RPS provides specialist services to government and private sector clients with a focus on front-end consulting.
RPS has been widely recognized for its strong sustainability agenda, having been ranked number one in the UK for climate change and energy consulting by the Environment Analysis for 2019/2020, a top 200 environmental firm by Engineering News-Record in 2021 and recognized in 2021 as one of the first “carbon champions” by the Institution of Civil Engineers.
“We are pleased to announce the proposed acquisition of RPS as it will enable us to rapidly deliver on our Global Strategic Action Plan and create value for all our stakeholders,” commented Alexandre L’Heureux, President and Chief Executive Officer of WSP.
“RPS is a perfect fit as it adds depth to our current platform and is highly complementary, in terms of geographies and sectors, to our recently announced agreement to acquire the Environmental and Infrastructure (E&I) business of the John Wood Group plc.”
“When completed, our recently announced transactions will bring our workforce to approximately 70,000, with approximately 23,000 environmental experts across the globe. We are proud that we are building a strong ESG leader with significant capabilities in water and energy and contributing significantly towards the transition to a greener and low-carbon world,”
WSP said the board of directors of RPS intends to recommend the acquisition unanimously.
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