THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FIRM INTENTION TO UNDERTAKE ANY TRANSACTION UNDER RULE 2.7 OF THE CITY CODE ON TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS (THE "CODE") AND THERE CAN BE NO CERTAINTY THAT ANY TRANSACTION WILL PROCEED, OR AS TO THE TERMS OF ANY SUCH TRANSACTION, EVEN IF THE PRE-CONDITIONS BELOW ARE SATISFIED.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

24 July 2014

Carillion plc ("Carillion") and Balfour Beatty plc ("Balfour Beatty")

Possible Merger

 In view of recent media speculation the Boards of Carillion and Balfour Beatty can confirm that, following an approach from Carillion to Balfour Beatty, they are engaged in preliminary discussions in relation to a possible merger of Carillion and Balfour Beatty.

The Boards of Carillion and Balfour Beatty believe that the merger of the two groups has the potential to create a market leading services, investments, and construction business of considerable depth and scale. Work is now underway to develop a strategy and outline business plan for a combined entity, underpinned by the evaluation of achievable synergies, future financing arrangements and a number of other essential supporting workstreams. In evaluating the merits of the merger, the two boards will, inter alia, wish to be satisfied that such a merger would lead to very significant value creation for the benefit of both sets of shareholders. 

The two parties have agreed that Balfour Beatty's publicly announced sale process for Parsons Brinckerhoff, which is already underway, will proceed unaffected by this announcement, subject to achieving acceptable value and terms.

The Boards of Carillion and Balfour Beatty note that they would only proceed with a merger if, inter alia, (i) both Carillion and Balfour Beatty were to conclude due diligence to their satisfaction; and (ii) the Boards of Carillion and Balfour Beatty were to recommend it to their shareholders. In accordance with Rule 2.5(c)(i) of the Code, Carillion and Balfour Beatty confirm that the pre-conditions referenced in (i) and (ii) above must be satisfied prior to the agreement of any transaction. 

No final decision has been reached regarding the structure of any merger. Accordingly until further notice, for the purposes of the Code, both Balfour Beatty and Carillion will be treated as offeree companies.

As required by Rule 2.6(a) of the Code each of Carillion and Balfour Beatty are required, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 21 August 2014, to either announce a firm intention to undertake a transaction in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that they do not intend to undertake a transaction, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. Either deadline may be extended with the consent of the Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code. 

A further announcement will be made in due course, as appropriate.  In the meantime, there can be no certainty that any offer will be made by either Carillion or Balfour Beatty or as to the terms on which any such offer might be made.

Enquiries:

Carillion

John Denning, Director Group Corporate Affairs                            +44 (0) 1902 316 426 

Finsbury (PR Adviser to Carillion)

James Murgatroyd                                                                     +44 (0) 207 251 3801

Gordon Simpson

Balfour Beatty

Anoop Kang, Head of Investor Relations                                       +44 (0) 207 216 6913

Patrick Kerr, Director of Corporate Communications                      +44 (0) 207 963 4258

Disclosure requirements of the Code:  

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. If you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure, you should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

Publication on websites

A copy of this announcement will be made available subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions on Carillion's website at www.carillionplc.com and Balfour Beatty's website at www.balfourbeatty.com by no later than 12 noon (London time) on 25 July 2014.

The content of the websites referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A TAKEOVER OFFER OR AN OFFER OF SECURITIES. NO OFFER OR SALE OF SECURITIES MAY OCCUR IN THE UNITED STATES UNLESS THE TRANSACTION HAS BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 (THE "SECURITIES ACT") OR IS EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION THEREUNDER. NO SECURITIES HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC OFFER OF SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.