US engineering consultancy to acquire Coffey International Friday, 16 October 2015

Australia’s first geotechnical engineering firm, Coffey International, is in the process of being acquired by Tetra Tech.

Headquartered in California, Tetra Tech is a provider of consulting and engineering services. With 13,000 staff worldwide, the company supports commercial and government clients focused on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, and energy.

Coffey is Australia’s first geotechnical engineering firm. When founder David Coffey saw the potential for geotechnical engineering in the 1950s, it was a little understood discipline rarely used in Australia. It was a pioneering profession, yet to make inroads in the country.

Seeing its value, David Coffey travelled to Canada where he lived and worked, honing his craft and building his skills as a geotechnical engineer.

David Coffey returned to Australia in 1959 to start his own business from his Sydney home, and Coffey was founded.

In the 1970s, the company ventured overseas, but it was during the 1980s that Coffey really expanded, opening offices in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

In 1990, Coffey International Limited was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. In the early 2000s, The company embarked on a range of acquisitions, diversifying beyond its traditional origins.

Later, the Global Financial Crisis saw the need to re-focus on its three core areas of geoservices, project management and international development to support its sustainable growth. Now Coffey employs about 3500 people right across the globe.

Tetra Tech will make an off-market takeover offer to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Coffey for $0.425 cash per share. For the most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, Coffey reported revenue of $556 million.

“Coffey provides a platform for growth of our international development business with multinational aid agencies,” said Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech’s chairman and CEO. “In addition to Coffey’s expertise in geoservices and project management, the combined company will also provide water and environmental services to support Australia’s infrastructure expansion.”

“Tetra Tech is an ideal partner for us,” said John Douglas, managing director of Coffey. “This gives our people the chance to be part of a larger team of technical experts and deliver an expanded global offering to our clients. At the same time, it offers Coffey shareholders the opportunity to realise immediate value.”

[Image courtesy: Tetra Tech]