Steve Marshall and Brinckerhoff

Brinckerhoff: Carillion had initially agreed to the sale of Brinckerhoff, which accounts for a third of Balfours profits, but then stunned the UK companys board by changing its mind two weeks ago, throwing the proposed deal into doubt, according to The Independent. But Balfour, which bought Brinckerhoff in 2009, sees no future for the operation as part of the group and the executive chairman Steve Marshall said it made little sense to hang on to it as the sector rides a wave of takeover activity. The well advanced sale process is said to have attracted bidders including the engineer WS Atkins and Mr Marshall said there was still strong competitive interest and The company plans to return the cash to shareholders in the event of a 1bn sale of its US consulting arm Parsons Brinckerhoff the business on which the on-off merger has hinged. The US companys latest proposal included keeping Brinckerhoff, but covering the costs of bidders for the business, if they could be persuaded to continue bidding on the basis that the merger might fail. Balfour shareholders would also get a final dividend payment. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.