Proposed Acquisition Of Scott Wilson To Strengthen URS’ UK Market Position

Analysts at Wunderlich Securities reiterate their "buy" rating on URS Corp URS. The target price for URS is set to $52. According to Wunderlich Securities, “URS's offer of $242 million in cash is equal to 11.5x Scott Wilson’s fiscal May 2010 EPS and 5.0x EBITDA. Scott's net debt totaled about $28 million at the end of fiscal 2010 and unfunded pension liability was around $90 million. The deal is expected to close by September with a shareholder vote in July with UK court and EGM approvals expected by the end of July.” “Scott Wilson has a network of 80 offices and more than 5,500 employees, including 1,000 in China and 750 in India , which puts them in a position to be a more active player in those markets…. Its extensive exposure to high-speed rail work should be transferable to the U.S. market where URS has already made inroads,” the analysts mention. Wunderlich adds, “We believe URS Corp.'s (URS) proposed acquisition of Scott Wilson Group is a step in the right direction, as it will strengthen the company's U.K. market position, broaden its overall overseas presence, and add valuable additional talent to the roster. Scott's market strength lines up well with URS's in both the transportation infrastructure and nuclear power areas, and there should be some cross-selling opportunities, especially given Scott's strength in the high-speed rail market…. URS believes it will be accretive to 2011 earnings but gave no additional guidance.” More Analyst Ratings here