Europe

Canadian engineering consultancy Genivar has announced it will merge with its UK-based rival WSP.

Genivar will acquire all of WSP’s shares for around £278 million.

The companies said that given their complementary geographic footprints, end-market exposures and service offerings and limited client overlap, the business fit is expected to provide revenue diversification as well as enhanced capabilities to better serve their combined client base on a global basis.

UK-based interim power solutions company Aggreko has joined forces with South Africa’s Shanduka Group to provide power from a gas field in Mozambique.

The two companies will provide a 107 MW power plant which will use gas from Mozambique’s Temane gas field to provide an interim power supply to South African power utility Eskom and its Mozambican counterpart, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM).

A solar-powered plane the size of a jumbo jet landed in Morocco last night following a 19-hour flight from Madrid.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed in Morocco’s Rabat-Salé international airport at 23:30, completing the world’s first intercontinental flight in a plane powered by the sun.

The plane, named the Solar Impulse, was powered by 12,000 solar cells turning four electrical motors.

Achieving energy independence has become a top priority for the country, said Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych during a meeting in Washington, DC.

The meeting of the working group on energy security was co-chaired by the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Boyko and Special Envoy of the United States Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar. 

While the UK celebrates the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in the rain, enterprising registration plate specialist Regtransfers.co.uk is offering for sale the regal MAJ 357Y number plate.

As the Queen’s state cars are not required to display number plates, here is an opportunity for someone to have their very own piece of royal history.

The ‘majesty’ number plate is one of thousands of private number plates available for purchase in the UK, with hundreds of thousands of variations of many popular names.

EnQuest has signed an agreement to farm out a 35 per cent interest in its UK Alma and Galia oil field developments to the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.

Under the terms of the deal, the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) will invest approximately US$500 million (around £300 million) in cash, comprised of up to $182 million in future contributions for past costs, a development carry for EnQuest, and KUFPEC’s direct share of the development costs.

Ukraine has opened a new terminal at Boryspil International Airport in Kiev that is capable of servicing up to 15 million visitors per year, ahead of next month’s Euro 2012 tournament.

The president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych said the completion of the venue was “another small victory” for Ukraine as the country continues to develop its infrastructure in preparation for the influx of visitors.

The total area of terminal D is 107,000 square metres, making it the largest airport terminal in Ukraine.

Drinks giant Diageo has agreed to acquire the Brazilian cachaça brand, Ypióca, for approximately £300 million in cash.

Diageo will purchase the brand from Brazil’s Ypióca Agroindustrial Limitada, along with certain production assets, including a distillery in Paraipaba, Ceará, a bottling plant in Fortaleza, Ceará, and a warehouse in Guarulhos, São Paulo.

African Iron Ore Group Limited and Société Guinéenne du Patrimoine Minier have announced the formation of a joint venture company to develop and finance infrastructure for the Simandou South iron ore mining project in Guinea.

Société Guinéenne du Patrimoine Minier (SOGUIPAMI), the government of the Republic of Guinea's investment vehicle, will work with African Iron Ore Group within the framework of the new company, Infrastructures Minières de Guinée Holdings(IMG). SOGUIPAMI will own 60 per cent of IMG and AIOG will own 40 per cent.

Ireland’s Dawn Meats has clinched a five-year, €300 million contract to process up to 18,000 tonnes of Irish beef annually for McDonald’s Ireland.

In order to fulfill the contract, Dawn Meats has invested €14.5 million in a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art beef processing facility in Carroll’s Cross, Co Waterford, creating 65 new jobs. In addition, over 100 construction jobs have been created during the construction phase of the facility, which commenced in December 2011.