Balfour Beatty completes sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff

Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has completed the sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff to WSP Global, it announced on Friday.

The net cash consideration of $1,242m, equal to £753m, represented a multiple of 11 times underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2013.

Balfour said it intends to return up to £200m of the proceeds to shareholders through a share buyback programme, to start following the announcement of the group's 2014 preliminary results.

A further £85m will be used to reduce the group's pension fund deficit, while the balance will be retained by the group to cover the sale cost and to provide it with increased financial flexibility.

Executive chairman Steve Marshall said: "This sale represents a significant return on Balfour Beatty's investment and a compelling level of value creation for shareholders. Following the sale, Balfour Beatty will be a simplified and more focused group.

"It has leading positions in the UK and US construction and infrastructure markets, all supported by a strong balance sheet. Leo Quinn joins as group chief executive in the New Year to take the group forward and to drive shareholder value."