Stantec confirms acquisition of Teshmont Consultants

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This article was published 01/10/2020 (1835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stantec Inc., the Edmonton-based global engineering firm, has confirmed its acquisition of Winnipeg-based Teshmont Consultants that was reported earlier in the week.

Stantec had previously owned a 30 per cent stake in the 65-person Winnipeg firm that specializes in power engineering.

Stantec acquired the 40 per cent stake that had been held by Manitoba Hydro since 2002 and the 30 per cent piece that had been owned by Wood PLC, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Although the NDP opposition is concerned that such a deal is bad for the province and signals some sort of larger Manitoba Hydro privatization, Manitoba Hydro officials say that is not the case.

About 52 of Teshmont’s staff based in Winnipeg will remain in the city working for Stantec’s Winnipeg operation. Another 13 are in a Calgary office and will stay with Stantec there. Two administrative employees in Winnipeg and one in Calgary have been let go.

“All the technical expertise that has been built up in the organization and honed in Winnipeg will continue to be located in Winnipeg,” said Ralph Kurth, the president of Teshmont.

“We will just have a different name on our business card and working out of a different office.”

He said by joining Stantec, it will mean greater opportunities down the road with the potential to grow its Winnipeg business.

“We see it as a positive,” he said.

Term of the transaction were not disclosed.

Teshmont has been involved with Manitoba Hydro work since it was formed in 1966 and Manitoba Hydro has been its largest client ever since. Kurth said since the completion of Bipole III in 2018, Teshmont has been doing more work out of province and in the U.S., Europe and India.

It was originally formed as a consortium of mostly Quebec-based engineering firms to design transmission of power from the Nelson River generating stations that were starting to be built.

After various mergers and acquisitions, it became owned 50-50 by Stantec and Wood. In 2002, Manitoba Hydro acquired 20 per cent ownership from each of them. Wood decided to divest the same time Manitoba Hydro did.

Although there is some controversy about the manner in which Manitoba Hydro is handling the fate of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Manitoba Hydro International, the sale of Teshmont appears to be a straight sale of a financial investment.

Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen said the completion of Bipole III was determined to be the right time to sell its stake in Teshmont.

“This sale has no impact on Manitoba Hydro’s operations,” he said. “Manitoba Hydro purchased a share in Teshmont in 2002 to ensure that local high-voltage direct current (HVDC) expertise was available to act as the owner’s engineer for the engineering and construction of the Bipole III transmission line and its two converter stations. This was done to ensure local expertise was available.”

He said the provincial government played no role in the decision.

“It does not in any way constitute privatization of Manitoba Hydro,” he said. “To link the two is erroneous and factually inaccurate.”

But NDP Leader Wab Kinew said the sale was “very, very bad news for Manitoba” and a “very dark day” in the province’s history.

“This government has no right to break off our most important Crown corporation and sell it off right from under our feet,” he told reporters at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

According to Hydro’s 2019-20 annual report, the Crown corporation recorded revenue from Teshmont and a small gas pipeline called Minell Pipelines Ltd. of $700,000, down from $1 million the previous two years.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca