![2015 was a record year for mergers and acquisitions in the AE industry [infographic]](/sites/default/files/Screen%20Shot%202016-01-28%20at%209.38.08%20AM.png "2015 was a record year for mergers and acquisitions in the AE industry [infographic]")
Driven by steady growth in the economy, domestic merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the architecture and engineering industry hit record levels in 2015, according to Morrissey Goodale LLC, a leading business management consulting and training firm to the A/E industry. Growing uncertainty about foreign markets, however, contributed to a drop in the number
of international deals last year.
In 2015, Morrissey Goodale tracked a record 234 sales of U.S.-based A/E firms, representing a 5.4% increase over the 222 domestic deals recorded in 2014. Sales of international firms, however, dropped 8.5% from 117 in 2014 to 107 last year. When domestic and international sales are combined, overall global dealmaking in the A/E industry increased by 0.6% in 2015.
Other findings from Morrissey Goodale’s 2015 AEC M&A Year in Review include:
• Texas remained the hottest spot for M&A activity in the United States with 31 firm sales in 2015. California was a close second with 24 firm sales. Other states that saw 10 or more deals last year included Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Florida.
• More than half (57.7%) of U.S. deals in 2015 involved a buyer and seller from different states, up from 56.2% in 2014.
• More than a fifth (20.8%) of global deals in 2015 involved publicly traded buyers, down from 28.4% in 2014.
• Mega-deals tapered somewhat last year as the median revenue of buyers decreased from $77 million in 2014 to $59 million in 2015, while the median revenue of sellers declined from $4 million to $3 million.
Morrissey Goodale Principal Consultant Neil Churman expects M&A activity in the United States will remain strong in 2016. “Continued confidence among AEC industry leaders will likely drive another busy year for domestic mergers and acquisitions,” he says. “Unease about the price of oil may give some buyers pause in pursuing energy deals, but a new transportation bill and strength in other building and infrastructure markets should lead to continued deal activity among growth-minded firms.”
Morrissey Goodale’s complete 2015 AEC M&A Year in Review and an interactive map of M&A activity in the United States can be found at www.morrisseygoodale.com.
Related Stories
| May 10, 2011
Google hires Ingenhoven Architects to design new Mountain View office
The current Googleplex is straining at the seams and yet the company is preparing its biggest hiring surge ever, so Google decided now’s the time to build its own office space—a first for the Internet giant. The company hired Ingenhoven Architects, a German firm that specializes in sustainable architecture, to create plans for what could be a 600,000-sf office.
| May 10, 2011
Solar installations on multifamily rooftops aid social change
The Los Angeles Business Council's study on the feasibility of installing solar panels on the city’s multifamily buildings shows there's tremendous rooftop capacity, and that a significant portion of that rooftop capacity comes from buildings in economically depressed neighborhoods. Solar installations could therefore be used to create jobs, lower utility costs, and improve conditions for residents in these neighborhood.
| May 10, 2011
Dinner is now served…atop the Lincoln Memorial?
Take a look at the temporary restaurant sitting atop Brussels’ historic Arc de Triomphe-Triomfboog. The Cube, by Electrolux, offers 18 diners a spectacular view of the Parc du Cinquantenair, and is one of two structures traveling across Europe, making stops at famous landmarks in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, and Russia. What do you think about one of these 60-tonne structures being placed on a U.S. memorial?
| May 6, 2011
Ellerbe Becket now operating as AECOM
*/ The architecture, interiors and engineering firm Ellerbe Becket, which joined AECOM in 2009, has fully transitioned to operating as AECOM as of May 2, 2011.
| May 2, 2011
URS acquires Apptis Holdings, a federal IT service provider
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and CHANTILLY, VA– April 28, 2011 – URS Corporation and Apptis Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of information technology and communications services to the federal government, announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which URS will acquire Apptis.
| May 2, 2011
Perkins+Will merges with Vermeulen Hind Architects, offically launches Perkins+Will Canada
Ottawa and Hamilton-based Vermeulen Hind Architects, one of Canada’s leading healthcare architectural firms, has merged with Perkins+Will. Vermeulen Hind joins Toronto-based Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will and Vancouver-based Busby Perkins+Will to create Perkins+Will Canada. The combination marks the official launch of Perkins+Will Canada, a merge that will establish the firm as among the pre-eminent interdisciplinary design practices in Canada.
| Apr 26, 2011
Ed Mazria on how NYC can achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030
The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects invited Mr. Mazria to present a keynote lecture to launch its 2030 training program. In advance of that lecture, Jacob Slevin, co-founder of DesignerPages.com and a contributor to The Huffington Post, interviewed Mazria about creating a sustainable vision for the future and how New York City's architects and designers can rise to the occasion.
| Apr 26, 2011
Video: Are China's ghost cities a bubble waiting to burst?
It's estimated that 10 new cities are being built in China every year, but many are virtually deserted. Retail space remains empty and hundreds of apartments are vacant, but the Chinese government is more concerned with maintaining economic growth—and building cities is one way of achieving that goal.
| Apr 25, 2011
Earn $300 million by NOT hiring Frank Gehry
An Iowa philanthropist and architecture aficionado—who wishes to remain anonymous—is offering a $300 million “reward” to any city anywhere in the world that’s brave enough to hire someone other than Frank Gehry to design its new art museum.
