JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Construction firm Basil Read and project house TWP had received the majority shareholder approval from both sets of shareholders for the proposed acquisition of TWP by Basil Read, the companies announced on Tuesday.

TWP CEO Nigel Townsend said in an interview with Mining Weekly Online that the combined company would offer synergies, and would marry a significant construction company with Africa’s largest engineering, procurement, construction management (EPCM) company.

“We can now, apart from the two traditional markets that the companies operate in, take major infrastructure and mining projects from start to finish, to handover, to operation.”

Townsend noted that TWP’s core operations would not change, as the company would still operate independently from Basil Read. The combined group would extend TWP’s construction-skills repertoire, while Basil Read would have access to additional design and project management expertise.

“The management will stay in place and what we will do is see where the synergies are between the two companies and we can generate new business over and above what those companies are doing,” Townsend said.

He noted, however, that TWP was now more likely to get involved in large engineering projects, such as port, rail and road infrastructure, across the African continent.

Under the agreement between the two companies, Basil Read would pay out more than 37,3-million new ordinary shares, as well as more than R143,6-million in cash, in the ratio of 31,16 new Basil Read shares and R119,96 for every 100 TWP shares.

The special resolution passed for the increase of Basil Read’s authorised share capital will be lodged with the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) for registration.

The companies said that an application to the South Gauteng High Court for sanction of the scheme would be made on December 1.

If the court sanctioned the scheme, the sole unfulfilled condition precedent would be the registration by Cipro of the Order of Court sanctioning the scheme.

Shareholders of both companies were advised that the suspension of trading of shares, have now been lifted.