- BAM has agreed an acquisition valuing underground infrastructure specialist A.Hak at €504 million.
- The target’s utility relationships and specialist capabilities offer a route into sustained network investment.
- Although predominantly Dutch, the business brings expertise that BAM intends to expand in the UK.
Royal BAM Group has agreed to acquire A.Hak in a deal with an enterprise value of €504 million, strengthening its position in underground infrastructure as electricity and water networks become increasingly important sources of construction demand.
Announced on Thursday, the agreement would add specialist expertise in pipelines, high and medium-voltage cables and trenchless construction. BAM has secured financing through existing cash resources and a bridge facility provided by Rabobank, ING and ABN AMRO.
A.Hak generates approximately 85% of its revenue in the Netherlands, with additional operations in the UK and Belgium. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and employee consultation.
“A.Hak’s specialist capabilities will also support BAM’s growth in the UK, where the energy transition and investment in essential water infrastructure are taking place on an even larger scale,” said BAM chief executive Ruud Joosten.
“BAM’s established UK position offers opportunities to scale A.Hak’s existing activities and deploy its specialist expertise across a broader range of customers and projects.”
The deal’s significance extends beyond size alone. It is a purchase of delivery capability in infrastructure that enables electrification, rather than an investment in generation assets themselves.
Visible infrastructure earnings
BAM expects A.Hak to generate about €425 million of revenue in 2026, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 10%. With a €1 billion order backlog covering 2027-31, BAM says the combination would take its energy transition exposure above 20% of group revenue.
Utility programmes can support repeat work, while specialist underground expertise may be harder to assemble quickly than general construction capacity. That does not eliminate execution risk; framework relationships provide access to future work, but profitability still depends on pricing, productivity and the ability to manage difficult ground conditions and project interfaces.
The acquisition also follows an improvement in BAM’s established UK and Ireland business. First-half reporting showed divisional revenue rising 4% to approximately €1.73 billion and adjusted EBITDA increasing 48% to €98 million.
Its 2025 annual reporting had already recorded a return to profitability in UK construction, alongside a disciplined approach to tendering. That provides context for the acquisition: BAM is adding specialist capability while emphasising the quality of earnings, rather than simply increasing turnover.
For UK customers, the potential benefit is a broader contractor offering across civil works and underground connections. For competitors, the transaction signals that strategic value is concentrating in the skills required to deliver network expansion.
The government’s recently announced Great British Grid initiative reinforces that direction of travel. The new publicly owned body, within Great British Energy, is intended to support electricity network investment and accelerate delivery. It is separate from BAM’s transaction, but reflects the same emphasis on infrastructure as an economic constraint.
The commercial question is whether combining scale with specialism improves delivery without weakening A.Hak’s customer relationships or operational focus. Maintaining the target’s independent identity may help, but transferring expertise between markets will still require local capabilities and contracts.
For the transition economy, the deal is a reminder that investment opportunities are not confined to turbines, batteries and solar panels. Networks require experienced people, equipment and repeatable construction methods. BAM is paying to secure those capabilities – and positioning itself to capture spending that must occur before much of the wider transition can proceed.
