Major sale of COWI shares in Germany, COWI
Release Date: 2009-07-07
COWI gains additional staff resources in Northern Europe after securing a stock transfer agreement with a leading German consultancy firm
COWI has announced that Gauff Rail Engineering (GRE) has purchased a controlling share in its German subsidiary, ETC Transport Consultants.
The agreement, which was finalised on 29 June 2009, calls for GRE to purchase 74 per cent of the shares in ETC, pending approval of German anti-trust authorities.
According to Henning Therkelsen, COWI Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions, the agreement enables COWI to establish an alliance with GRE and the Gauff Group in the German as well as the international market.
“GRE has a very strong reputation in the German rail market,” says Therkelsen. “Their position as shareholders in ETC will strengthen ETC's position in the market and strengthen their ability to win projects jointly with GRE.”
GRE, which numbers approximately 100 employees, is part of the Gauff Group – one of the major consulting firms in Germany with a total of 500 staff.
The closer ties with GRE will also increase the staff resources available to COWI on projects in the expanding Danish rail sector, adds Jens Christoffersen, COWI’s Vice President of Railways, Roads and Airports.
“We have recently seen key customers in the Danish market publicly express their willingness to use international consultants on projects to alleviate capacity constraints,” says Christoffersen. “And COWI is better positioned now to take advantage of this through the expansion of our international network.”
The decision to sell ETC shares also reflects COWI’s decision to focus efforts on the Swedish market rather than Germany, says Therkelsen.
COWI retains 26 per cent of the shares in ETC to maintain the current partnership with ETC on rail projects in Denmark and Norway and to underpin the partnership with GRE.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | COWI |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Url: | http://www.cowi.com/menu/news/newsarchive/generalnews/Pages/GauffRailEngineeringbecomesmajorityshareholderinETC.aspx |