Ramboll expands US division with engineering consultancy acquisition

Danish engineer consultants Ramboll is set to almost double its US staff count as it prepares to takeover engineering and design consultancy OBG to its water, energy, environment and manufacturing division.

The firm say the acquisition will take place on 1 January 2019, giving it 2,000 employees in the US and 15,000 globally. The deal is in line with Ramboll’s strategic ambition to grow in the US and strengthen its portfolio within water, energy and environmental services.

Ramboll CEO Jens-Peter Saul said the company is very excited to be welcoming OBG’s 900 experts to the Danish firm and adds to a recent acquisition in 2014.

“Growing in North America has been a strategic priority for us since we established our US presence in 2014 with the successful acquisition of Environ,” he added. Together with OBG we can build on the platform we have developed in the US. By combining our analytical and consulting-oriented business in the US with the strong project execution capabilities of OBG, we will be able to deliver full-scale, integrated solutions to our clients - from front-end consulting work to back-end execution.”

The deal had strong support from OBG’s shareholders, with more than 91% of votes within OBG shares in favour of the acquisition. OBG was founded in 1945 and works out of 26 locations across the US. Ramboll said the combined revenues of the two firms amounted to $2bn.

OBG CEO Jim Fox added: “We see joining forces with Ramboll as a tremendous opportunity to widen our client base in the US as well as extend our client relationships globally. Additionally, this brings together world-class thought leadership and the capacity to solve the challenges caused by global megatrends such as urbanisation, climate change and resource scarcity.”