Days after Sydney, Australia-based developer and contractor Lendlease announced its intention on January 2 to sell its UK business, its last in a non-domestic market, to US private equity firm Atlas Holdings LLC for $70 million, the deal has been halted due to the regulator’s review of potential national security risks in the unit’s defense contracts, according to a report in the British publication Construction news.
The UK government did not comment on the review, but it was reported that it is expected to take at least 30 days and is required by law in relation to acquisitions of companies involved in defense ministry projects. Lendlease has five contracts with the ministry. But the deal is still expected to be completed by the middle of the year, the company said.
At that time, Greenwich, Conn.-based Atlas Holdings is set to restore Bovis as a brand for the London-based operation, which was dropped by Lendlease in 2011, a company spokesman confirmed.
The PE firm also owns Permasteelisa SpA, the Italy-based global specialist manufacturer and contractor known for the advanced installation of building facades on iconic towers and other structures with complex geometries that it acquired in 2020, as well as Veritas Steel, the third largest steel manufacturer in the United States and a specialist in bridge structures.
loan announced the sale of its global businesses last year to focus on the Australian market shortly before its New York and New Jersey operations were acquired by Consigli Building Group Inc., based in Milford, Massachusetts.
