Aecom acquires URS for £2.3bn

Aecom has announced it will pay £2.3bn to acquire fellow US engineering giant URS. The deal which is expected to close in October will create a combined company with £11.1bn in annual sales and more than 95,000 employees.

Aecom and URS are both based in California however have a significant UK presence after Aecom acquired UK-based consultant Davis Langdon and URS acquired UK-based consultant Scott Wilson, both in 2010.

Aecom said the deal would make it one of the largest companies by revenue in the engineering and construction industry, and that it would become the largest publicly traded company headquartered in Los Angeles. The transaction will create £146m in annual cost-saving synergies, nearly all of which will be achieved by the end of the 2016 financial year.