The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) has approved the sale of Aecon to CCCC International Holding Limited (CCCI).
Aecon applied for the final order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for approval of the arrangement on Dec. 22. The company’s shareholders also approved the previously announced ‘plan of arrangement’ to allow CCCC International acquire all issued and outstanding shares of the company two days before the court decision.
About 99.4 per cent of the votes cast by Aecon shareholders were in favour of the arrangement.
Approval was required from at least two-thirds of the votes cast by shareholders plus a simple majority of disinterested shareholders, voting either in person or by proxy.
Completion of the arrangement remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including the court order and approval under the Investment Canada Act. Assuming the satisfaction or waiver of these closing conditions, the arrangement is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
CCCI is the overseas investment and financing arm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), one of the world’s largest engineering and construction groups. Its core business activities include infrastructure construction, infrastructure design and dredging.
Aecon Group and CCCC International have announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which CCCI will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Aecon for $20.37 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $1.51 billion.
The purchase price represents a 42 per cent premium to Aecon‘s unaffected share price on August 24 and a 9.2x EV/LTM EBITDA multiple. The board of directors of Aecon previously unanimously recommended this transaction.
Since its creation, Aecon has been involved in the construction of some of Canada’s most iconic landmarks, including the CN Tower, St. Lawrence Seaway, Vancouver Sky Train and the Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport.
For the second quarter of 2017, Aecon reported revenue of $686 million compared to $839 million in the second quarter of 2016.
