ATK.L Regulatory News (ATK)

Atkins acquires Danish bridge engineering company

WS Atkins plc ("Atkins") has acquired Gimsing & Madsen A/S, an independent specialist consultancy in bridge and structural design, from its shareholders for a cash consideration of DKK 23.8 million (approximately £2.8 million).

The acquisition boosts Atkins' capability in bridge and tunnelling design and improves the Group's ability to respond to opportunities in a strong Scandinavian road and rail sector.

Chris Birdsong, Atkins' managing director for Europe said: "Gimsing & Madsen's bridge and tunnelling design expertise is highly respected in the region and as a well-managed company with deep client relationships it is a natural fit. We have previously worked together so the integration should be straightforward and the addition of Gimsing & Madsen's technical skills will boost our capacity and the depth of services we can offer."

Gimsing & Madsen, based in Horsens in Denmark, was founded in 1969 and has long established partnerships with some of Scandinavia's most important organisations such as Danish Road Directorate, Rail Net Denmark, and the Danish State Railways.

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Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) plans, designs and enables the delivery of complex infrastructure and buildings for clients in the public and private sectors across the world. Atkins is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK and the world's eleventh largest international design firm (sources: New Civil Engineer Consultants File, 2010; Engineering News-Record, 2010).

Atkins is working on several key Scandinavian projects, including the rollout of the state of the art ERTMS rail signalling system in Denmark, a Norwegian high speed rail feasibility study and Copenhagen's Cityringen, a new circular metro line underneath the Danish capital. Other key contracts calling on the Group's tunnelling and bridge design expertise include: MTR's Express Rail Link in Hong Kong; London's Crossrail, Europe's biggest civil engineering project and the UK's M25 widening programme.

Atkins is the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.