Syracuse’s OBG to join Danish company’s Americas business unit; Fox to lead it

SYRACUSE — Syracuse engineering firm OBG will become part of the Americas business unit of the Ramboll Group, a Danish engineering firm, in an acquisition that takes effect on Jan. 1.

OBG, previously known as O’Brien & Gere, is based in the Washington Station building at 333 W. Washington St. in Syracuse’s Armory Square.

Ramboll, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, didn’t disclose the acquisition price or any other terms of the deal in its Dec. 17 news release announcing the deal. It did say that OBG investors overwhelmingly approved of the sale with more than 91 percent of OBG shares cast in favor of the deal.

The sale has been in the works for a while, according to the leader of the Syracuse company.

“We’ve really been in discussions in earnest for about a year,” says Jim Fox, CEO of OBG, who spoke with CNYBJ on Dec. 17.

With the new acquisition doubling its size in the U.S., Ramboll is establishing a new business unit for the Americas covering the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil with services in water, energy, environment, and health. OBG’s Fox will lead the new business unit as managing director, beginning on Jan. 1.

The Ramboll Group adds 900 employees within water, energy, environment, and advanced-manufacturing services in the deal. Ramboll intends to retain all OBG employees and offices, says Fox.

OBG didn’t seek out this deal and wasn’t looking to sell, says Fox. “We’re performing extremely well as a company,” he notes.

Fox went on to say that Ramboll’s “expression of interest” provided a chance for OBG to compare strategies to see if the firm had the chance to “accelerate our own growth strategy, extend our client relationships, both nationally and globally … and to add very complementary thought leadership and capabilities, not to mention the additional resources to support our growth strategy.”

OBG sees Ramboll as a “really like-minded and culturally aligned organization” with a similar focus on clients and people.

“Those two things, strategy and culture, were really the things that we felt matched up very well,” says Fox.

With the acquisition, Ramboll now has 2,000 employees in the U.S. and 15,000 workers globally. The Danish firm hopes the new business unit will grow from the current 2,000 employees to between 3,000 and 4,000 U.S. employees in four to five years.

At the time of the acquisition’s closing, the combined revenue of Ramboll and OBG will be $2 billion, the Danish firm said.

Besides its Syracuse headquarters, OBG has New York state offices in Clay, Binghamton, Albany, Rochester, Utica, Lindenhurst, White Plains, and New York City, according to its website. In addition to New York, OBG also has offices in 10 other states. 

Moving forward

As of Jan. 1, OBG will refer to itself as part of the Ramboll Group, so it’ll be a “joint message,” says Fox. 

“We look to transition our brand as appropriate based on the strength of OBG’s brand in some areas and the strength of Ramboll’s brand in other areas … through the course of 2019. 

When asked if the OBG brand might be phased out beyond 2019, Fox says that he would use the term “phased in.”

“OBG will phase into more of a Ramboll brand, and I think that is our objective,” says Fox. “We’re very much transitioning, and the real test is when our clients are comfortable and then we’ll be more comfortable transitioning fully to Ramboll.”

The acquisition of OBG is an “exciting step forward in Ramboll’s strategic ambition to grow in the U.S. and strengthen” its portfolio within water, energy, and environmental services, “making Ramboll a multidisciplinary player in the U.S.,” the firm contends. 

“We are very excited to be welcoming OBG’s 900 experts to Ramboll,” Jens-Peter Saul, Group CEO, said in the release. “Growing in North America has been a strategic priority for us since we established our U.S. presence in 2014 with the successful acquisition of [Arlington, Virginia–based] ENVIRON.”

With OBG, Saul contends the Ramboll Group can build on the platform it has developed in the U.S. OBG’s Fox says the deal provides OBG the opportunity to broaden its customer base across the U.S. and globally.

SYRACUSE — Syracuse engineering firm OBG will become part of the Americas business unit of the Ramboll Group, a Danish engineering firm, in an acquisition that takes effect on Jan. 1.

OBG, previously known as O’Brien & Gere, is based in the Washington Station building at 333 W. Washington St. in Syracuse’s Armory Square.

Ramboll, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, didn’t disclose the acquisition price or any other terms of the deal in its Dec. 17 news release announcing the deal. It did say that OBG investors overwhelmingly approved of the sale with more than 91 percent of OBG shares cast in favor of the deal.

The sale has been in the works for a while, according to the leader of the Syracuse company.

“We’ve really been in discussions in earnest for about a year,” says Jim Fox, CEO of OBG, who spoke with CNYBJ on Dec. 17.

With the new acquisition doubling its size in the U.S., Ramboll is establishing a new business unit for the Americas covering the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil with services in water, energy, environment, and health. OBG’s Fox will lead the new business unit as managing director, beginning on Jan. 1.

The Ramboll Group adds 900 employees within water, energy, environment, and advanced-manufacturing services in the deal. Ramboll intends to retain all OBG employees and offices, says Fox.

OBG didn’t seek out this deal and wasn’t looking to sell, says Fox. “We’re performing extremely well as a company,” he notes.

Fox went on to say that Ramboll’s “expression of interest” provided a chance for OBG to compare strategies to see if the firm had the chance to “accelerate our own growth strategy, extend our client relationships, both nationally and globally … and to add very complementary thought leadership and capabilities, not to mention the additional resources to support our growth strategy.”

OBG sees Ramboll as a “really like-minded and culturally aligned organization” with a similar focus on clients and people.

“Those two things, strategy and culture, were really the things that we felt matched up very well,” says Fox.

With the acquisition, Ramboll now has 2,000 employees in the U.S. and 15,000 workers globally. The Danish firm hopes the new business unit will grow from the current 2,000 employees to between 3,000 and 4,000 U.S. employees in four to five years.

At the time of the acquisition’s closing, the combined revenue of Ramboll and OBG will be $2 billion, the Danish firm said.

Besides its Syracuse headquarters, OBG has New York state offices in Clay, Binghamton, Albany, Rochester, Utica, Lindenhurst, White Plains, and New York City, according to its website. In addition to New York, OBG also has offices in 10 other states. 

Moving forward

As of Jan. 1, OBG will refer to itself as part of the Ramboll Group, so it’ll be a “joint message,” says Fox. 

“We look to transition our brand as appropriate based on the strength of OBG’s brand in some areas and the strength of Ramboll’s brand in other areas … through the course of 2019. 

When asked if the OBG brand might be phased out beyond 2019, Fox says that he would use the term “phased in.”

“OBG will phase into more of a Ramboll brand, and I think that is our objective,” says Fox. “We’re very much transitioning, and the real test is when our clients are comfortable and then we’ll be more comfortable transitioning fully to Ramboll.”

The acquisition of OBG is an “exciting step forward in Ramboll’s strategic ambition to grow in the U.S. and strengthen” its portfolio within water, energy, and environmental services, “making Ramboll a multidisciplinary player in the U.S.,” the firm contends. 

“We are very excited to be welcoming OBG’s 900 experts to Ramboll,” Jens-Peter Saul, Group CEO, said in the release. “Growing in North America has been a strategic priority for us since we established our U.S. presence in 2014 with the successful acquisition of [Arlington, Virginia–based] ENVIRON.”

With OBG, Saul contends the Ramboll Group can build on the platform it has developed in the U.S. OBG’s Fox says the deal provides OBG the opportunity to broaden its customer base across the U.S. and globally.