China Construction Completes Buy of US Builder Plaza

The American subsidiary of China’s largest construction firm has acquired one of the largest builders in the US, as China’s outbound investment boom spreads from real estate into the building industry.

Plaza Construction, originally founded to provide construction management and general contracting on projects for US real estate company Fisher Brothers, has been sold to China Construction America, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corp. The price was not disclosed.

Plaza will continue to operate autonomously under the Plaza Construction name, the company said Monday. “Our firm has always maintained a very ‘hands-on’ approach to working with our clients and managing world class construction projects for nearly 30 years,” says CEO Richard Wood. With the sale to China Construction, he adds, “Plaza is poised for accelerated growth with enhanced resources and bonding and procurement capabilities.”

China Construction first announced that the deal was under contract this past December, subject to regulatory approval.

Before acquiring Plaza, China Construction America had focused mainly on infrastructure projects in the US. The acquisition of Plaza is seen as giving the Chinese company an easy way into construction for the private sector in the US.

Although the Plaza deal was the only significant acquisition in the US engineering industry by China Construction America within the last year, the company has made two major US real estate buys in 2013.

In October year, China Construction bought the 99 Hudson Street site in New Jersey for $68 million – a residential property approved for building of up to 1000 apartments. Also, during April last year the company spent $71 million to buy a suburban New Jersey office building for $71 million.