Royal BAM Group nv has reached agreement on the sale of the shares of the German operating company Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau to ZECH Building SE, in which all construction activities of the Zech Group are bundled. The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities and is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
The divestment of Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau will result in a book profit of approximately €50M. This amount was not taken into account in the earlier provided outlook for 2022, which was an improvement of the adjusted EBITDA margin compared to 2021. In addition, the transaction will shorten the balance sheet and will reduce liquidity and the use of bonding. The capital ratio will further improve by approximately 2 per cent.
Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau is based in Frankfurt am Main and has a leading position in the German civil engineering market and in international tunnel construction. Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau is, for example, in joint venture involved in the construction of the Femern Belt tunnel, which will link Germany and Denmark. Other joint venture projects include the western part of the new 7km rail tunnel linking Munich’s main station with the eastern hub (2. Stammstrecke Munich), the A10/A24 highway extension near Berlin (PPP) and the construction of a new rail maintenance facility for Deutsche Bahn in Cottbus. Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau’s annual revenue is more than €500 million. The company has 1,000 employees.
Ruud Joosten, CEO Royal BAM Group, says: ‘We are pleased that with ZECH Building as the new shareholder for Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau, we have found a reliable partner to continue the further successful future of the company and its employees. Zech Group also acquired the activities of BAM Deutschland in the autumn of 2021. We consider the current transaction as a major step in the portfolio adjustment of our Group, based on our strategy Building a sustainable tomorrow. BAM focuses on growth markets in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland, where we have scale and competitive advantage.’
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