Editing Downer Group (section)

==History==
Downer's foundations were laid in the 19th century, when [[Walkers Limited]] and [[Clyde Engineering]] were founded in Australia, and the Public Works Department and Electrical Telegraph Department were founded in New Zealand. They merged in the 20th century to form parts of the Downer Group. The 20th century also saw the purchase of companies that now make up Downer's core divisions: railway manufacturer [[Evans Deakin & Company]] (EDI) and mining contractor Roche Brothers.<ref name=History>[https://www.downergroup.com/company-history History] Downer Group</ref>

In 1933, the Downer Group was founded in New Zealand by [[Arnold Downer]], as Downer & Co, focusing on providing engineering and construction services to the public and private infrastructure sectors in New Zealand, including the [[New Zealand Ministry of Works|New Zealand Public Works Department]]. In 1954, Downer & Co merged with [[William Cable & Company|William Cable Holdings]] and, in 1964, with [[A&G Price]], to form Cable Price Downer.<ref name=History/>

In 1994, Downer merged with [[Hong Kong]]-based Paul YITC. In 1996, the company purchased Works Corporation, the [[state-owned enterprise]] civil construction arm of the [[New Zealand Ministry of Works|New Zealand Ministry of Works & Development]]. In 1997, mining contractor Roche Brothers was acquired.<ref>[http://www.rocheholdings.com.au/About-Us.aspx A Family History] Roche Brothers</ref> In 1998, Downer purchased major roads contractor Technic Group, and was first listed on the [[Australian Securities Exchange]].<ref name=History/>

In 2000, road-sealing business Bitumix was acquired from [[BP]].<ref>[http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission/media-centre/media-releases/1998/workscivilclearedto Works Civil cleared to acquire Bitumix] Commerce Commission New Zealand 27 July 1998</ref> In 2001, Downer merged with [[Evans Deakin & Company|Evans Deakin Industries]] to form Downer EDI.<ref name=History/><ref>[http://www.asx.com.au/prices/company-name-and-asx-code-changes-2001.htm Company name and ASX code changes 2001] Australian Securities Exchange</ref> Between 2003 and 2008, Downer also acquired Stork, QCC, Snowden, Emoleum and Excell Corporation. In October 2014, the construction assets of [[Tenix]] were acquired.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/business/downer-edi-buys-salteri-familys-tenix-business-for-300m-20141019-118l2b.html Downer EDI buys Salteri family's Tenix business for $300m] ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' 20 October 2014</ref>

In March 2017, Downer acquired Hawkins, one of New Zealand's largest builders, and in June 2017, took majority ownership of [[Spotless Group Holdings]] through a hostile takeover.<ref>[https://thewest.com.au/business/markets/downer-set-to-launch-13b-bid-for-spotless-ng-b88420954z Downer launches $1.27b bid for Spotless] ''[[The West Australian]]'' 21 March 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/06/27/downer-edi-seeks-seats-spotless-board Downer EDI seeks seats on Spotless board] ''[[Special Broadcasting Service]]'' 27 June 2017</ref> It took full ownership of Spotless for $1.27 billion in October 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ASX Announcements|url=https://www.downergroup.com/asx-announcements|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Downer Corporate Site}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Pash|first=Chris|date=2017-03-21|title=Downer EDI moves into cleaning with a $1.27 billion bid for Spotless|url=https://www.businessinsider.com.au/downer-edi-moves-into-cleaning-with-a-1-27-billion-bid-for-spotless-2017-3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321024012/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/downer-edi-moves-into-cleaning-with-a-1-27-billion-bid-for-spotless-2017-3|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 March 2017|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Business Insider Australia}}</ref> The Spotless acquisition was the largest in Downer's history.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wells|first=Peter|date=2017-03-21|title=Spotless Group spikes after A$1.2bn bid from Downer EDI|url=https://www.ft.com/content/cef7e856-a84f-3a60-8dca-6d0d531805af|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Financial Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-12-21|title=Downer-Spotless: Inside the capital markets story of the year|url=https://www.afr.com/companies/how-downers-grant-fenn-used-a-cannon-to-down-sparrow-spotless-20171219-h07joj|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Australian Financial Review}}</ref>