KBR in US$ 292 million acquisition of Roberts & Schaefer

KBR has broadened its reach in the material handling and processing markets with a deal to acquire Roberts & Schaefer, a US construction company focused on bulk material handling, for US$ 292 million.

Roberts & Schaefer is a subsidiary of privately held contractor Elgin National Industries. It targets the mining and minerals, power, industrial, refining, aggregates, precious and base metals industries.

Roberts & Schaefer brands include Soros, which focuses on material handling in for ports and marine applications, and Separator, which provides services to coal, minerals and power markets in Eastern Europe. The Chicago-based company has operations in the US, Australia, Poland, Indonesia and India.

KBR said it paid a US$ 280 million purchase price, plus an additional US$ 12 million working capital injection.

KBR chairman, president and CEO William Utt said the acquisition bolstered the company's strategy to dominate the market for commodities service providers.

"The addition of Roberts & Schaeffer to our existing engineering and construction platform enables KBR to significantly broaden our services offerings to a wide range of commodity, material handling and process customers," Mr Utt said.

The deal would bring bulk materials handling capabilities to KBR's existing minerals business and enable KBR to participate in mining and power developments from planning though to design and construction, Mr Utt explained.