New owner of McBains Cooper is RSBG, which is part of the RAG-Stiftung, a foundation set up in 2007 to wind down Germany’s coal mining industry. It is the same buyer that took an 85% stake in consulting engineer Pell Frischmann in 2015.
When buying Pell Frischmann it only had to negotiate with Wilem Frischmann and Sudhu Prabhu. There were 18 shareholders of McBains Cooper’s parent company listed on Companies House filings, including chief executive Michael Thirkettle. McBains Cooper refused to disclose whether any minority shareholdings had been retained, what the purchase price was, or any terms of the deal.
However it did say that there will be no changes made to the McBains Cooper management team, or professional and operational personnel, suggesting that a merger with Pell Frischmann was not on the cards, despite indications to the contrary from the new owners.
Jürgen Wild, managing director of RSBG, said: “McBains Cooper provides a great fit with our investment criteria, a highly-respected property and construction consultancy that has an enviable reputation across all major market sectors. They have combined technical excellence with exemplary customer service. Adding dedicated project management capability and a multi-discipline approach is a major step in our strategy to build a fully-fledged consultancy group.”
McBains Cooper chief executive Michael Thirkettle said the takeover “marks an exciting new chapter in the long and proud history of McBains Cooper, as we strengthen our imprint and extend our global reach”.
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