Keller Group has acquired the geotechnical division of South Africa civil and construction engineering company Esorfranki Limited for $50 million. Esorfranki Geotechnical is the country’s largest ground engineering firm.

“This important acquisition marks another milestone in our strategy of extending our global leadership by expansion into new, higher growth regions,” said Keller CEO Justin Atkinson.

“The combination of Esorfranki Geotechnical’s local knowledge and resources with Keller’s scale, experience and broad range of techniques will make us ideally placed to undertake complex major projects requiring design expertise and multi-product solutions in a region where we expect the longer-term opportunities to be significant.”

At the end of the most recent fiscal year, Esorfranki Geotechnical had revenue of $79.1 million, almost half of which was generated outside South Africa, and operating profit of $5.3 million. The company serves civil engineering and construction customers across sub-Saharan Africa with design and build services.
Keller says the acquisition will extend the company’s reach into that area of the globe, where it expects to see significant growth through major infrastructure projects. Esorfranki Geotechnical will become part of Keller Group’s EMEA division.

The purchase price of $50 million may include an additional $15.3 million in deferred consideration depending on profit targets over the three years following the acquisition. The acquisition, pending approval of Esorfranki Limited shareholders in late November, is expected to be completed by the end of November. Approval must also come from the South African Reserve Bank.

Esorfranki Geotechnical is one of four divisions of Esorfranki Construction, which is wholly owned by Esorfranki Limited. The other divisions include civils, developments and pipelines. For more information, visit the website www.esorfranki.co.za.

Keller offers the construction and civil engineering sectors a variety of ground engineering services. It has more than $2 billion in annual revenue and about 7,000 employees worldwide. For more information about Keller Group, visit www.keller.co.uk.