The business has been bought by affiliates of Oroco Capital, a strategic infrastructure investor.
The deal follows Aecom’s sale of its power construction business in October 2020. Aecom said that it has now exited substantially all of its self-perform, at-risk construction businesses.
California-based Shimmick has approximately 2,700 employees and a broad portfolio of infrastructure projects, including serving as lead JV partner for the design and construction of the cable-stayed Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach. Its president Steve Richards said: “With Oroco’s full support and confidence, Shimmick is better positioned to successfully deliver critical infrastructure projects to improve our nation’s vital needs We are excited to embark on this new chapter in our history and look forward to working with our partners and clients to develop innovative solutions and provide high-quality customer service.”
Aecom said that it had completed nearly US$150m (£132m) of share repurchases since its fourth quarter fiscal 2020 earnings announcement in mid-November 2020. Since September 2020, the company has executed more than US$600m of share repurchases and it has approximately US$850m of repurchase capacity remaining under its existing US$1bn board authorisation.
“The completion of the sale of the civil construction business marks a significant milestone in the transformation of our business profile to best position Aecom for long-term success,” said Troy Rudd, Aecom’s chief executive officer. “As global leaders in the infrastructure, environment and water markets, we are poised to capitalise on our clients’ increasing demand for our consulting services to transform cities, achieve bold ESG [environmental, social and governance] ambitions and better the communities we serve. With the progress we have made on our key strategic priorities, our advancement of our ‘Think and Act Globally’ strategy to drive growth and the momentum in the business, we remain committed to repurchasing shares in order to fully capitalize on the value creation opportunity.”
Under Aecom, Shimmick merged with Aecom’s civil construction businesses including Morrison Knudsen, Washington Group International and Raytheon Engineers & Constructors. Since then, the companies have operated as a single, integrated construction unit under the Shimmick name and brand.
The sale by Aecom had been announced in December. Rudd said at the time that the sales were in line with Aecom’s strategy to focus its efforts on its higher-margin and lower-risk professional services businesses.
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