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On 31 January 2023, U.K.-headquartered RSK Group (RSK)—an international environmental, engineering, and technical services provider—announced the acquisition of Brisbane, Australia-based Pensar Infrastructure (Pensar). This is the firm’s 65th transaction over the last five years and its largest transaction outside of the U.K.
M&A is a primary approach to geographic and technical expertise growth for engineering firms—i.e., buying local experience and rolling up the respective client accounts—however, the pace and volume of RSK’s acquisitions are unique.
In this Research Note:
- RSK’s aggressive M&A growth strategy— partly fueled by a seven-year, £1.0 billion loan from Ares Management Corporation—has put the firm only 20% shy of its revenue target of £1.0 billion by 2025
- RSK has completed more than 65 acquisitions since the start of 2018, of which 20 are water pure-plays or have a water-related offering
- In relatively quick order, the firm now ranks among engineering water service providers WSP, Black & Veatch (excluding Binnies assets), Carollo Engineers, and Hazen and Sawyer
