Contractor announces that it has sold its French engineering division to private equity group PAI Partners as part of restructuring strategy.

Amec has sold its French engineering arm Spie to a private equity group for more than 拢700m.

Under the deal, announced this morning, PAI Partners will pay Amec 拢707m for the firm, which specialises in the energy and rail sectors.

Amec Spie has 23,000 staff in about 380 offices across Europe, and last year posted pre-tax profit of 拢49.7m on turnover of 拢1.8bn.

Amec chief executive Sir Peter Mason said: "We are extremely pleased to announce this important first step in our strategic restructuring. We are delighted to have secured a timely transaction at a very good price and with a shareholder who will continue to support SPIE's plans to invest in and develop the business".

PAI senior partner Bertrand Meunier, said: 'We are very pleased to have agreed on the terms of the acquisition of AMEC SPIE, a very well positioned company with a strong company spirit, an excellent business model and an outstanding management team. We consider that the company has excellent growth prospects and is a strong platform for acquisitions.'