SINGAPORE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Singapore-based urban planning consultancy Surbana Jurong Pvt Ltd, owned by state investor Temasek Holdings TEM.UL , has agreed to buy Australia-based SMEC Holdings Ltd for about S$400 million ($298 million), increasing its global reach.
The combined entity will have a global workforce of almost 10,000 employees and revenue of about S$1.1 billion, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday, making it one of the largest urban and infrastructure consulting firms in Asia.
Surbana Jurong said earlier this year it was looking at acquisitions overseas, including China and India as well as Australia. SMEC provides consultancy services for infrastructure projects. infrastructure spending is expected to grow to more than $9 trillion per year by 2025 from an annual $4 trillion in 2012, consultancy PwC has forecast, with the Asia-Pacific market expected to account for nearly 60 percent of that.
Surbana Jurong is hoping to increase the share of revenue that comes from overseas business to 40-60 percent from the current 20 percent in the next three-to-five years, Group Chief Executive Wong Heang Fine told Reuters in January.
($1 = 1.3402 Singapore dollars)