Dutch marine engineer Royal Boskalis Westminster is to acquire the equipment, employees and selected contracts of German dredging company Strabag Wasserbau for $76m.
The Hamburg-based firm is the market leader in the German dredging sector, with a turnover of $54m.
Thomas Birtel, the chief executive of Strabag, said: “We have decided to sell our hydraulic engineering assets to Boskalis, which is capable of operating the business strategically.
“Within our group, these activities would be consigned to a niche area. We are especially pleased that Boskalis is also willing to employ the 238 employees of Strabag Wasserbau.”
The sale follows Strabag’s agreement to buy the remaining 42.74% of the shares of Ed Züblin, a Stuttgart-based contractor with a turnover of $3.5bn.
Strabag is the largest construction firm in Austria.
Image: One of Strabag Wasserbau’s back-hoe cranes in action (Strabag)