Leader

摘要

Major construction mergers, it seems, bear an uncanny resemblance to buses. After a long wait, and hot on the heels of the news of the Aecom-URS and Galliford Try-Miller Construction deals, we now have the third, and most attention-grabbing, proposed tie up in a month - between Balfour Beatty and Carillion. The revelation that the UK's two largest contractors are in discussion over a potential merger stunned both the City and the industry: even with Balfour's current difficulties, rumours that it would become a takeover target had previously centred on international companies trying to gain a foothold in the UK sector.