Massive construction firm AECOM Technology Corporation has made a $6 billion deal to buy San Francisco-based URS Corporation, according to the Los Angeles Times. Together, the firms will form a global giant with more than $19 billion in revenue and 95,000 employees in 150 countries.
AECOM has announced that it will pay about $4 billion for URS and will take on about $2 billion in debt. Michael S. Burke, CEO of AECOM, has said that the firm will get bigger over time, but not immediately, as it will focus on paying down its debt. AECOM will pay $56.31 per URS share, and URS stockholders will receive $33 per share, 0.734 shares of AECOM common stock for each URS share.
Burke said that he expects to add employees, specifically engineers, architects, and construction managers in the company's hometown of Los Angeles, though he didn't give specific numbers, according to the Times.
AECOM generates revenue through a number of industries: architecture, construction, management, and finance. Currently, it's working on the complex for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as well as a stadium for the 2018 World Cup in Moscow.
URS, on the other hand, is a major player in the energy sector, and provides integrated engineering, construction and technical services. It is managing the John F. Kennedy International Airport Redevelopment Program and the Orange County Public Schools Capital Improvement Program in Orlando.
Though the companies have competed over the years, the merger gives AECOM a stronger grip on the energy and oil industries, as well as federal contracting, which brought in 34% of URS's revenue in 2013.
"The combined company will be a premier, fully integrated infrastructure firm, serving clients across a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government," URS said in a statement on the merger. "The two companies are world leaders in the infrastructure industry."
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Sep 15, 2022
Heat Pumps in Multifamily Projects
RMI's Lacey Tan gives the basics of heat pumps and how they can reduce energy costs and carbon emissions in apartment projects.
| Sep 15, 2022
Monthly construction input prices dip in August
Construction input prices decreased 1.4% in August compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released today.
| Sep 15, 2022
First LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue opens
Kol Emeth Center, the world’s first LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue, opened recently in Palo Alto, Calif.
| Sep 14, 2022
Fires on Amazon warehouse roofs seemingly caused by faulty PV installations
Amazon has made installing solar panels on rooftops a key part of its ESG strategy, but a series of events last year show how challenging greening up major facilities can be.
| Sep 14, 2022
Indian tribe’s new educational campus supports culturally appropriate education
The Kenaitze Indian Tribe recently opened the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus (Kenai River People’s Learning Place), a new education center in Kenai, Alaska.
| Sep 13, 2022
California building codes now allow high-rise mass-timber buildings
California recently enacted new building codes that allow for high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the state.
| Sep 13, 2022
Orange County opens civic center complex—one of California’s largest P3 projects
Orange County’s recently opened County Administration North (CAN) building caps an urban center development that constitutes one of California’s largest ever P3 projects.
Laboratories | Sep 12, 2022
Lab space scarcity propels construction demand in life sciences sector
In its 2021 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook, JLL predicted that access to talent would be a primary concern for an industry sector that had been growing by leaps and bounds. A year later, talent still guides real estate decisions. But market conditions of a different sort were cooling the biotech field: namely, investors that have soured on startups which underperformed after going public. What this means for new construction and renovation going forward is unpredictable, as the drivers behind life sciences’ surge are still palpable.
Architects | Sep 12, 2022
FWA Group joins national architecture, interior design, and planning firm Hord Coplan Macht
Hord Coplan Macht acquires FWA Group.
| Sep 12, 2022
Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize
Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize.
