Atkins has confirmed that it has received a takeover bid and is considering the offer.
The UK engineer announced on Monday that it had been approached by Canadian company SNC-Lavalin.
Atkins told the City the two companies were in talks after SNC-Lavalin offered 2,080p for every share of the company. SNC-Lavalin’s offer values the multinational engineering giant at around £2.1bn.
Atkins said it had indicated to SNC-Lavalin that it would be prepared to recommend the offer to stakeholders subject to reaching agreement on other terms and conditions.
A statement by Atkins said: “Atkins and SNC-Lavalin are in discussions about the other terms and conditions of the possible offer, which is conditional on, among other things, diligence and financing.”
The Canadian firm, headquartered in Quebec, has offices in more than 50 countries and reported £10bn in revenue in 2015.
Under UK takeover rules SNC-Lavalin is now required to announce any firm intention to make an offer for Atkins by 5pm on 1 May.
US consultant CH2m made an approach to Atkins at the start of the year but no official offer was tabled.
