Balfour Beatty and Carillion holding preliminary discussions with view to "possible" merger

Merger would create construction giant with market capitalisation of £3 billion.

The Boards of two of the United Kingdom's largest construction companies have announced they are in preliminary merger talks following an approach from Carillion to Balfour Beatty.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange on 24th July, the companies confirmed strategic planning is underway to identify "achievable synergies, future financing arrangements and a number of other essential supporting workstreams".

It was also announced that any merger plans would not impact on the competitive sales process Balfour Beatty's has previously announced for the disposal of its Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering and design subsidiary.

Under Rule 2.6(a) of the Stock Exchange's Takeover Code (Panel on Takeovers and Mergers), the companies are required to confirm whether they will enter into a formal merger agreement, withdraw from discussions or seek an extension of apply for an extension of the deadline, by 21 August 2014.