WSP Global has acquired Halvorson and Partners (H+P), a 40-person Chicago-based firm that provides structural engineering services for developers, private owners, and institutions worldwide.

H+P has completed structural designs for high-profile, award-winning projects throughout the U.S., as well as internationally through an office in Shanghai and a strong presence in the Middle East. Its portfolio includes the Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower in Abu Dhabi, which won the "2015 Best Tall Building Award" for the Middle East and Africa from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Other projects include: OneEleven, a 60-story luxury apartment tower in Chicago which recently won a "Best Project Award"from the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois; Wolf Point West Tower, the first tower in a multi-phase US$1 billion development along the Chicago River in Chicago; and Vantone Tower, a 600-foot-tall corporate headquarters in Tianjin, China.

David Cooper, president of WSP / Parsons Brinckerhoff's U.S. buildings practice and the region's chief commercial officer, stated:

"We are pleased with this acquisition, which is an integral part of our U.S. buildings' strategy. H+P is a world class structural firm that shares our culture of deeply caring about the success of our clients and staff. This acquisition not only enhances our building structures practice with additional expertise, it also gives us a platform upon which to build a fully integrated buildings engineering practice in the great city of Chicago, the birthplace of the steel frame skyscraper."

Robert Halvorson, H+P's founder and Principal, commented:

"We are excited to be joining forces with WSP / Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global organization that shares a core philosophy of partnering with clients to provide the highest level of quality services. As a part of one of the world's leading engineering organizations, we are better able to collaborate with our architect partners and to serve our clients wherever they are pursuing projects. It also enables us to offer more of a one-stop approach for structural engineering and the comprehensive high performance building services that are critical to the success of today's technologically advanced building projects."

WSP also announced that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of all of its shares in Link Arkitektur to Multiconsult AS. The sale of these shares which represent approximately 27.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of Link Arkitektur is expected to generate total gross proceeds to WSP of approximately US$5 million.