Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced today a $1.9bn investment, in the form of debt and equity, to support SNC-Lavalin’s global expansion projects. Earlier, the company submitted a firm offer to acquire all the share capital of WS Atkins, a leading British design, engineering and project management consulting firm. As part of the proposed transaction, la Caisse’s investment will be carried out in the form of a loan of $1.5bn, secured by the value and cash flows of SNC-Lavalin’s interest in the Highway 407 ETR project. La Caisse will also acquire $400m of equity.