M&A Update | Engineering & Construction H2-2017
H2-2017
ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION
M&A UPDATE
PUBLICATION CONTENT PROVIDED BY BAKER TILLY CAPITAL
Engineering and construction industry overview and indicators Baker Tilly Capital, LLC’s engineering and construction M&A update provides an overview of the U.S. engineering and construction sector, including recent performance and M&A trends. In the second half of 2017 (H2-2017), construction spending totaled $648.8 billion, which represented a 12 percent increase from the first half of 2017 (H1-2017) and a 2 percent increase from the same period in 2016. Growth in total construction spending has decelerated since 2015, but remains positive. With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, private capital expenditures could continue to accelerate.
Total construction spending in the U.S. (in millions)
$400,000
$350,000
$337,947
$310,886
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
Q1-2012
Q2-2012
Q3-2012
Q4-2012
Q1-2013
Q2-2013
Q3-2013
Q4-2013
Q1-2014
Q2-2014
Q3-2014
Q4-2014
Q1-2015
Q2-2015
Q3-2015
Q4-2015
Q1-2016
Q2-2016
Q3-2016
Q4-2016
Q1-2017
Q2-2017
Q3-2017
Q4-2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Growth in public spending remains muted and though current administration plans are conservative they do include increases to infrastructure and defense spending. Since the Great Recession (2007-2009), public spending has declined towards a long run average and private spending has increased substantially. In December of 2017, private construction spending surpassed the 15-year high established pre-recession in February 2006.
Public versus private construction spending in the U.S.
$1,200,000
Private Public
$963,247
$1,000,000
$800,000
$600,000
$400,000
$290,047
$200,000
$0
Jan-2003
Jan-2004
Jan-2005
Jan-2006
Jan-2007
Jan-2008
Jan-2009
Jan-2010
Jan-2011
Jan-2012
Jan-2013
Jan-2014
Jan-2015
Jan-2016
Jan-2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
1
The consensus forecast compiled by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for non-residential construction spending estimates that 2018 and 2019 should see roughly 4 percent growth. The economists polled in AIA’s forecast remain positive about the near term prospects of the U.S. economy citing natural disasters, tax reform, the possibility of an infrastructure package and strong consumer and business confidence levels as proponents for continued growth. Furthermore, monetary policy remains expansionary with the current federal funds rate targeted at 1.25 to 1.50 percent. In 2018, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) expects rates to move closer to 2.1 percent, but cites that timing of interest rate changes are dependent on numerous economic factors, including GDP growth, unemployment rates and inflation rates among others. On an annualized basis, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.3 percent in 2017, which compared to a 1.5 percent increase in 2016, was a significant improvement. Nonresidential fixed investment and exports propelled the growth in the real GDP for the U.S. economy in 2017. Unemployment rates declined from 4.3 percent in July 2017 to 4.1 percent – a 10- year low – in December of 2017, signaling a robust job market. Inflation lagged behind the FOMC’s 2 percent goal at 1.5 percent in 2017, but is expected to rise to the 2 percent peg in 2018. Overall, the U.S. economy appears to be healthy. Select public company metrics Baker Tilly Capital reviewed publicly traded companies in the engineering and construction industry. As of December 31, 2017, the identified comparable public companies (after exclusion of outliers) traded at an average of 11.2x EV/EBITDA and traded between 4.2x and 19.5x EV/EBITDA. Average EV/EBITDA multiples expanded from 10.2x to 11.2x from July 1, 2017 through the end of the year, which equates to a 10.3 percent increase, mirroring the 10.7 percent increase of the S&P 500 during the same time period. The current multiple average of 11.2x marks the engineering and constructions group’s highest average trading multiple since before the Great Recession (2007-2009). Operationally, performance for the peer group was positive during 2017. Average revenue growth for the peer group was 6.21 percent during 2017, while EV/EBITDA growth averaged 1.43 percent. Thirty of 36 firms reported positive EBIT and 27 of 36 firms reported positive net income. Public company valuations for engineering and construction firms can vary considerably depending on the specific service and/or end market the company does business in. Generally, companies we classify as specialty firms lag the other constituents of the peer group in terms of trading multiples and that trend became more pronounced during the H2-2017. During H2-2017, specialty firms averaged 9.9x EV/EBITDA, while the diversified engineering and constructions services and contractor firms averaged 12.7x EV/EBITDA.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Institute of Architects, Wall Street Journal, Capital IQ, Federal Open Market Committee, Bureau of Labor and Statistics
2
Select comparable public company analysis
Enterprise LTM LTM LTM Gross Profit EBITDA
Enterprise Value / LTM
Total Debt
($ in millions)
Company Name
Ticker
Value Revenue Gross Profit EBITDA Margin Margin Revenue EBITDA EBITDA
Diversified Engineering & Construction Companies
AECOM
9,116 $
18,756 $
$
650 713 653
$
772 250 724
3%
4%
0.5x
11.8x 10.7x
5.1x 3.4x 2.2x 2.7x 3.9x 5.3x 4.8x 2.2x 2.3x 3.5x 3.4x
NYSE:ACM
ARCADIS NV
2,689 6,988
4,020 19,483 27,529 10,222 4,424 6,893 2,742 5,422
18% 6% 0.7x 3% 4% 0.4x 28% 5% 0.4x 18% 6% 0.7x 4% 2% 0.6x 18% 8% 1.4x 54% 11% 1.3x 18% 8% 1.1x 18% 6% 0.8x 18% 6% 0.7x 5% 1% 0.3x 5% 2% 0.3x 10% 5% 0.8x 8% 3% 0.4x 9% 2% 0.3x 9% 5% 0.4x 8% 3% 0.4x 9% 3% 0.4x 21% 13% 1.4x 15% 6% 0.6x 23% 17% 1.1x 11% 9% 1.0x 38% 1% 1.0x 30% 12% 1.0x 18% 2% 0.6x 14% 10% 0.8x 7% 2% 0.4x 16% 13% 0.7x 10% 5% 0.5x 29% 20% 0.9x 9% 3% 0.5x 12% 7% 0.6x 13% 7% 0.7x 8% 4% 0.5x 18% 11% 1.4x 16% 7% 0.8x 14% 7% 0.7x 11% 5% 0.6x 22% 9% 2% (1%) 0.8x 0.4x 1% (4%) 0.2x
ENXTAM:ARCAD
Fluor Corporation
9.6x 9.3x
NYSE:FLR
Hochtief AG (Turner Construction) Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
12,181 7,473 2,770 9,756 3,681 5,723
7,765 1,845 1,261 1,478 1,002 1,727 1,002 173
1,303
DB:HOT
662
11.3x
NYSE:JEC NYSE:KBR TSX:SNC TSX:STN TSX:WSP
KBR, Inc.
97
NM
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
552 292 412 563 552
17.7x 12.6x 13.9x 12.1x 11.6x
Stantec Inc.
WSP Global Inc.
Diversified Engineering & Construction Adjusted Mean 1 Diversified Engineering & Construction Median
6,708 $ 6,988 $
11,055 $
$ $
$ $
$
6,893
Construction Services & Contractors
1,338 $
$
2,370 10,055 1,176 2,855 19,835
$
259 498
$
121
11.1x
5.3x
Aecon Group Inc. Balfour Beatty plc
TSX:ARE LSE:BBY TSX:BDT NYSE:GVA OM:SKA B TSX:SOX NYSE:TPC
3,281
82 20
NM
NM
Bird Construction Inc.
322
59
16.0x 16.8x 16.0x 11.7x 13.3x 13.8x 8.3x
3.0x 1.7x 2.6x 4.3x 3.8x 3.5x 3.4x
Granite Construction Incorporated
2,330 8,848
296
139 554 233 166 121 18
Skanska AB
1,605
Stuart Olson Inc.
206
759
68
1,929
4,811 5,980 2,855
442 461 296
Tutor Perini Corporation
Construction Services & Contractors Adjusted Mean 1 Construction Services & Contractors Median
2,608 $ 1,929 $
$ $
$ $
$ $
Specialty Firms
Aegion Corporation
1,105 $
$
1,343 9,148 3,024 7,624
$
292 166 633
$
123
9.0x
2.9x
NasdaqGS:AEGN
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V.
3,520 4,172 4,742
(114)
NM
NM
NYSE:CBI NYSE:DY NYSE:EME AMEX:GV
Dycom Industries Inc. EMCOR Group Inc.
390 447
10.7x 10.6x
2.0x 0.9x 1.3x 6.2x
1,108
Goldfield Corp.
129 749 420 299 389
116 724 414 289 602
26 81
20 68 35 14 2
6.5x
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation
11.0x
NasdaqGS:GLDD
Hill International, Inc.
155
NM
NM
NYSE:HIL TSX:IBG
IBI Group Inc.
86
8.5x
2.9x
Layne Christensen Company
110 874 473 138 76
NM
NM
NasdaqGS:LAYN
MasTec, Inc.
5,294
6,346 1,096 2,908 1,374
607
8.7x
2.1x 2.8x 1.4x 1.1x 2.3x 5.2x 1.4x 1.1x 2.6x 2.0x 2.4x 2.0x 2.9x 2.6x NM
NYSE:MTZ
Matrix Service Company McDermott International Inc.
472
18
NM
NasdaqGS:MTRX
2,024
378
5.4x 9.0x 4.6x
NYSE:MDR
MYR Group, Inc.
670 215 298
75 47 15
NasdaqGS:MYRG
North American Energy Partners Inc.
234 561
67 51
NYSE:NOA NYSE:ORN
Orion Marine Group, Inc
19.5x
Primoris Services Corporation
1,496 6,744
2,403 9,091
279
176 677
8.5x
NasdaqGS:PRIM
Quanta Services, Inc.
1,227
10.0x 13.7x 12.5x
NYSE:PWR
Sterling Construction Co. Inc.
467
872
73
34
NasdaqGS:STRL NasdaqGS:TTEK
Tetra Tech, Inc. Willbros Group Inc.
2,850
2,089
366
229
159
797
12
(32)
NM
NYSE:WG
Specialty Firms Adjusted Mean 1 Specialty Firms Median
1,811 $
$ $ $ $
2,553 1,220 5,345 2,742
$ $
315 146 696 296
$
160
9.9x 9.0x
$
709
$
58
3,190 $ 2,024 $
$ $
$ $
262 139
15% 6% 13% 5%
0.7x 0.6x
11.2x 10.7x
Total E&C Industry Adjusted Mean 1
Total E&C Industry Median
Source: Capital IQ (December 31, 2017) 1 Adjusted mean removes any outliers that skew the data
3
Average historical trading multiples
10.0x 11.0x 12.0x 13.0x 14.0x
Diversified Engineering and Construction
Construction Services & Contractors
Specialty Firms
13.3x
12.1x
9.9x
4.0x 5.0x 6.0x 7.0x 8.0x 9.0x
Mar JuneSept Dec Mar JuneSept Dec Mar JuneSept Dec Mar JuneSept Dec Mar JuneSept Dec Mar JuneSept Dec Mar JuneSept Dec Mar June Sep Dec 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Note: Multiples are based on average enterprise values for each quarterly period and certain outliers were removed from the analysis
Select H2-2017 transactions The selected transactions with numerical data below are from companies in the engineering and construction industry that occurred during the H2-2017. The industry has seen relatively consistent acquisition activity over the past two years despite a relatively inactive H1-2017. Publicly available valuation details are limited, however the following deals included trading multiple data, though some of the deals mentioned are outside of the middle market. During October 2017, Lennar Corporation announced the acquisition of CalAtlantic Group, Inc. from MatlinPatterson Global Advisors, marking one of the biggest transactions within the homebuilding industry in years. The transaction is scheduled to close in February of 2018. John Wood Group PLC closed on the acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler PLC during the H2-2017, bringing two companies with distinct and complementary services together and creating a global force within the construction services industry. The acquisition was proposed to be accretive to earnings. Another notable deal announced, but not yet closed, was the acquisition of Aecon Group Inc. by CCCC International Holding Limited. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter in 2018. Aecon Group is currently, and Amec Foster Wheeler was previously, a counterpart to this report.
Recent comparable transactions
Comparable Transactions with Numerical Data 7/1/2017-12/31/2017 ($ in millions) Date Target Company Acquiring Company
Implied EV EV / Revenue
EV / EBITDA
12/04/17 NAPEC Inc. (TSX:NPC) 2 10/30/17 CalAtlantic Group, Inc. 2 10/26/17 Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) 2 10/06/17 Amec Foster Wheeler plc
Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)
$258.86
0.7x 1.5x 0.5x 0.6x 1.4x
9.7x
$9,963.79
13.4x
CCCC International Holding Limited $1,613.98
9.8x
John Wood Group PLC (LSE:WG.)
$3,297.89
10.6x 10.7x
07/06/17 Distinct Infrastructure Group Inc. (TSXV:DUG)
-
$1.08
Total $15,135.60
-
-
Mean
$3,027.12 $1,613.98
0.9x 0.7x
10.8x 10.6x
Median
Sources: Capital IQ, public news sources and Baker Tilly Capital, LLC research (December 31, 2017) 2 Announced transactions
4
Other select closed transactions: H2-2017
Date
Target Company
Acquiring Company
Total Transaction Value
12/29/17 Blind Ambitions LLC and Allpro Insulation Co
Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) Vicapsys Life Sciences, Inc. (OTCPK:VICP)
- -
12/26/17 SSGI, Inc.
12/25/17 Westinghouse Electric Company LLC 12/15/17 CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd.
Toshiba Corporation (TSE:6502)
$522.0
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC)
$3,375.5
12/14/17 Legat Kingscott, LLC
Legat Architects, Inc.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12/13/17 Atlanta Homebuilding Operations of Home South Communities LLC CalAtlantic Group, Inc.
12/11/17 Royal Oaks Building Group, LLC
Mattamy Group Corporation
12/06/17 Woolpert, Inc. 12/04/17 Larssen Ltd 11/30/17 CBI Consulting LLC 11/30/17 Stouten Cramer, Inc.
Long Point Capital
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB)
$13.5
IBA Holdings, LLC
King Engineering Associates, Inc. H2M Architects and Engineers
11/10/17 Schommer Engineering, Inc. 11/09/17 PBA Architects, P.A. 11/02/17 Primary Integration, LLC 10/31/17 Sundquist Homes, LLC 10/30/17 Heery International, Inc. 10/19/17 LandBros Aerial Photography, LLC 10/10/17 Moser Mayer Phoenix Associates, PA 10/03/17 Brothers' Fence Company Inc. 10/02/17 Raymond J. Donnelly & Associates, Inc. 09/25/17 National Development Corporation 09/11/17 SarPoint Engineering Ltd. 09/06/17 John R. Wald Company, Inc. 09/01/17 Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc. 10/11/17 Andregg Geomatics, Inc.
Gibson, Mancini, Carmichael & Nelson P.A. Bureau Veritas SA (ENXTPA:BVI) Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS)
$51.5 $55.1
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) Premium Inspection & Testing, Inc.
Psomas
Clark Patterson Engineers, Surveyor and Architects P.C.
Split Rail Fence & Supply Co. Spalding DeDecker Associates, Inc.
Beacon Communities LLC
09/20/17 MC Endeavors, Inc., Prior to Reverse Merger with Room 21 Media Inc. MC Endeavors, Inc. (OTCPK:MSMY)
McElhanney Land Surveys Ltd.
Hills Numberplates Ltd.
WSP Global Inc. (TSX:WSP) Gilbane Building Company, Inc.
08/30/17 Keating Consulting, LLC 08/29/17 Community Asphalt Corp.
Obrascón Huarte Lain, S.A. (BME:OHL) Designer Group Engineering Contractors Limited
08/23/17 PPS Group LLC
08/07/17 NuVision Engineering, Inc.
Carr's Group plc (LSE:CARR)
$20.0
08/04/17 W.H. Hobbs Inc.
Andrew Roby, Inc. LJA Engineering, Inc.
08/02/17 Precision Aerial Compliance Solutions, LLC
07/31/17 Alpha Energy, Inc.
Southwest Business Services, LLC; Black Rock Oil And Gas, LLC; Croci Land Holdings, LLC; Arrow Consulting LLP; AG Management Associates; CBK Management Associates
07/31/17 David A. Mann Land Surveyor
Dubois & King, Inc. Warburg Pincus LLC KCI Technologies Inc. AECOM (NYSE:ACM)
07/31/17 Service Logic, LLC
07/31/17 LandAir Surveying Company of Georgia, Inc. 07/28/17 Shimmick Construction Company, Inc.
$175.0
07/18/17 EJM Engineering, Inc.
TranSmart Technologies Inc
07/12/17 McClure Engineering Associates, Inc.
KJWW Engineering Consultants, P.C.
07/11/17 Casteel Heating and Cooling, Inc. and Gold Medal Service
Horizon Services, Inc.
07/10/17 Ghyabi + Associates, Inc. 07/07/17 Harris Doyle Homes, Inc. 07/06/17 Halmar International, LLC
Alfred Benesch & Company, Inc.
Clayton Properties Itinera Usa Corp.
$60.0
07/06/17 5 Bars, LLC
Neutral Connect Networks LLC
07/03/17 Oakwood Homes LLC
Clayton Properties
07/03/17 CKGP/PW & Associates, Inc.
EDAG Engineering Group AG (DB:ED4)
Sources: Capital IQ, public news sources and Baker Tilly Capital, LLC research (December 31, 2017)
5
Number and aggregate enterprise value of engineering and construction deals with reported values (where EV < $1 billion) – United States and Canada
Sources: Capital IQ and Baker Tilly Capital, LLC insights (December 31, 2017)
6
All information and analysis in this report is provided by Baker Tilly Capital, LLC, which provides investment banking services before, during, and after a sell-side or buy-side transaction. Baker Tilly Capital, member FINRA and SIPC, is a wholly- owned subsidiary of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. RubinBrown and Baker Tilly Virchow Krause are independent members of Baker Tilly International, the world’s ninth largest network of accountancy and business advisory firms.
PRIVATE EQUITY SERVICES LEADERS
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Tim Farquhar, CFA, CPA Partner Private Equity Services Group 314.290.3281 tim.farquhar@rubinbrown.com Jeff Barnes, CFA Manager Private Equity Services Group 314.290.3276 jeff.barnes@rubinbrown.com
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