MSI and Coffey International Development will together create Australia’s largest international development consultancy with a combined total of more than 1000 development professionals and operations in more than 80 countries.
The transaction, which also includes earn-out provisions in the event that MSI’s profits exceed certain levels, is expected to complete in mid-February 2008, once the conditions precedent in the share sale agreement have been satisfied.
Coffey International Limited managing director Roger Olds said: “The acquisition is a continuation of a strategy for Coffey to become a dominant global player in the international development market and further acquisitions are planned.
“This acquisition also immediately increases the scale and margins of our international development business and overall is eps accretive for Coffey.”
MSI’s first-half financial year 2007 (1 May – 31 October 2007) contract revenue exceeded US$50 million.
“The development industry is strategically vital to Coffey’s long-term growth and internationalisation plans. Coffey International Development assists developing and emerging nations to establish necessary social infrastructure, such as health, education, governance, security and sustainable economic systems, which are the precursor to sophisticated physical infrastructure development.
“The relationships, networks, delivery mechanisms and local knowledge that Coffey International Development establishes in these countries provides our other businesses with the opportunity to consult on physical infrastructure development,” Roger said.
Building a global presence
Headquartered in Washington D.C., Management Systems International (MSI) is among the most highly respected and fastest growing international development consultancies in the United States of America (USA).
This acquisition extends Coffey International Development’s presence to the majority of the world’s major donor organisations including the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the European Union, the Asian Development Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Coffey entered the international development industry in the 1970s and built on this with the purchase of Australian-based MPW in 1990, followed by Australian industry leader SAGRIC in 2000. Since then Coffey has acquired Enterplan in the United Kingdom and has established operations in the United States of America, the Middle East and Poland.
Coffey International Development’s chief executive officer Glen Simpson will be responsible for MSI and its integration. Glen said: “It’s essential for us to have a strong presence in the USA – and Washington D.C in particular -in order to access a large segment of the world’s international development market.”
Washington D.C. hosts the world’s largest bilateral aid donor, USAID, as well as the largest multilateral donor, the World Bank.
“However, the aid industry is changing,” Glen explained. “It’s no longer the sole preserve of governments. Private investment is increasingly important and Coffey International Development is a leader in designing and implementing public-private partnerships, such as international challenge funds. The USA is home to many of the businesses and foundations that operate in this space, and the scale of their investment is comparable to some of the publically financed development agencies. A trusted, substantial presence in the USA is critical for Coffey to extend our ground breaking work in this field.”
MSI’s major clients include USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a number of US Federal Agencies, including the Departments of State and Labor, and leading not-forprofits, such as the MacArthur and Packard Foundations.
Founded in 1981, MSI employs nearly 450 development professionals, comprising over 100 permanent staff and more than 300 project staff resident in 20 countries. MSI also delivers on-going short-term technical assistance in another 40 countries worldwide.
Adding complementary international development consultancy skills
Glen Simpson said MSI’s core business areas were complementary to those of Coffey International Development.
“MSI’s core competencies are managing policy change, organisational development, monitoring and evaluation, and training, and its sectoral expertise is in democracy and governance, entrepreneurship development and natural resource management. The company is also an industry leader in conflict analysis and post-conflict reconstruction and in integrating gender considerations into international development. These competencies and sectoral experience directly complement and further enhance Coffey’s current capabilities.
“MSI’s recognised excellence in strategic management and performance improvement will strengthen our ability to improve public sector delivery processes that lie at the heart of many development initiatives. And MSI’s depth in performance monitoring and evaluation will be critical to our efforts to help our clients improve the effectiveness of international development assistance,” Glen said.
Delivering a better outcome for clients and for world communities
MSI president Larry Cooley said joining Coffey was highly desirable for his company and staff on a number of levels.
“Coffey’s vision of becoming a truly global company and its commitment to the development and application of best practices align closely with MSI’s long-standing desire to be part of such a community and our commitment to work only on projects to which we bring something special.
“Being part of the Coffey group will allow us to deliver development programs more efficiently and cost-effectively by having access to a greater range clients, staff and country offices as well as the complementary capabilities of Coffey’s other consulting companies. Our clients benefit and so do the people and the communities we serve,” Larry said.
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About Coffey
Coffey International Limited is one of the top 300 companies on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately $450 million. Operating for nearly 50 years, we have a range of specialist businesses working in the social and physical infrastructure markets. And, collectively, we aim to improve the lives of world communities.
Around the world, we are providing services at every stage of the infrastructure lifecycle – starting with planning and financing the project, through development and resolving the technical challenges to the management of resources, timelines and budgets. And the cycle continues as we use our specialist knowledge to ensure objectives continue to be met in the long term and infrastructure is appropriately maintained.
Our work involves a wide a range of built assets – like roads, buildings, gas pipelines, mines, and sporting facilities – just about everything that is required to meet the demands of a growing world population, rapid urbanisation and heightened environmental sustainability awareness.
Through our expertise, we are also enabling government and aid agencies to strengthen local communities, increasing quality of life and living standards. We develop mechanisms and manage projects across a range of social infrastructure, including economic development, education and training and health.
Coffey International Limited now has over 3000 people working on projects in more than 60 countries and has permanent offices throughout Oceania, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. Our plans are to continue expanding our specialist businesses through acquisitions and organic growth.
Coffey International Limited encompasses Coffey Environments, Coffey Geotechnics, Coffey Mining, Coffey Natural Systems, Coffey Projects, STA, CTL Environmental, the Peron Group, Stratcorp Consulting, Asia Pacific Rail, Webber Associates, NS Consultancy and Geoexplore.
Visit www.coffey.com for more information.
About Management Systems International
MSI was founded in 1981 and has been led since then by Larry Cooley and Marina Fanning, who will remain with the firm.
Based in Washington D.C., the firm employs 450 development aid professionals worldwide and operates long term field projects with resident staff in 20 countries.
Over the past 27 years, MSI has implemented more than a thousand consultancies in several dozen countries. In each of these efforts, it strives to promote and embody an unflagging commitment to excellence, transparency, and personal responsibility, and to leave a world better than the one it inherited.
Visit www.msiworldwide.com for more information.
Note to editors:
Roger Olds and Glen Simpson are available for interview. To arrange please contact:
Diana Krause, Communications Manager, Coffey International Limited, on 03 9473 1405, 0420 959 942, diana_krause@coffey.com
Or Catherine Vallence, Mendleson Communication, on (+61) 3 9827 0422, (+61) 400 212 245, catherine@mendleson.com.au
