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Engineering firm Opus International Consultants has bought an Australian infrastructure consultancy as it seeks expansion across the Tasman ahead of its float this year.
The purchase of Qantec McWilliam Consulting Engineers more than doubles the number of employees Opus has in Australia, to 300.
It will "provide it with added strength and the capability to manage growth particularly in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and in New South Wales", said Opus chief Kevin Thompson.
"It also gives us an opportunity to spread into the Northern Territory, where we do not currently have an office. In 2007-08 alone it is estimated that there will be approximately A$16 billion [$18.66 billion] spent on consulting engineering in Australia, and we want to have a slice of that."
The price was not revealed.
Opus - the former Ministry of Works - is expected to raise between $55 million and $75 million in a float on the New Zealand sharemarket this year, with an enterprise value of $170 million to $180 million.
The acquisition follows the purchase of Queensland-based engineering and architectural consultancy Group 42 last month.
Opus now has 37 offices in New Zealand, 19 in Australia, eight in the UK, seven in Canada and one in the US, with total staff of more than 2200.
