Jacobs completes acquisition of CH2M

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. completed the acquisition of CH2M. Jacobs says the move strengthens its position to provide innovative government, infrastructure and industrial professional services.

“This is a transformative step-change that brings together the industry’s foremost expertise and services to fulfill our vision to provide leading-edge solutions for a more connected, sustainable world,” said Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou. “Since our August announcement, we have held meetings with thousands of CH2M and Jacobs employees, and I cannot overstate the enthusiasm we share about our future together. Today, we are celebrating the creation of a new Jacobs with even greater aspirations to do meaningful work around the world, heartened by clients who have eagerly anticipated this combination.”

Jacobs formed an Integration Management Office (IMO) early in August to begin integration planning following the announcement of the proposed CH2M acquisition. The IMO identified rigorous processes and protocols to drive realization of cost and growth synergies, for which Jacobs’ executive team and Board of Directors will continue to provide active oversight.

“We are applying lessons learned from past integration experiences and adopting best practices for critical factors, such as talent retention, and building on the excellent cultural foundations of both organizations,” said Demetriou. “We are well positioned to capitalize on the differentiated value proposition created by this combination, and our continued efforts to drive incremental focus and accountability will be supported by a simplification of our operating model. Most important, our clients will be able to better realize the benefits of our industry-leading, innovative capabilities.”

The company expects to move to reporting results by three global business lines by the second half of fiscal 2018: Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear (ATEN); Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities (BIAF), led by Bob Pragada and Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR).

Jacobs says it is growing at four to five percent on a compounded annual rate in the transportation sector, which includes highways, roads and bridges; rail; aviation and ports. Jacobs was a support consultant in the Denver Regional Transportation District’s FasTracks Program and was involved in the Exposition Construction Authority’s Exposition Light Rail Transit Phase 1 project. CH2M was recently involved with the Honolulu rail transit project and is working with Metrolinx on program management services for three new light-rail lines.

Jacobs explains that the transportation sector’s significant investment momentum hinges on population growth and unprecedented demands for infrastructure development and improvement in all transportation modes and geographies, particularly in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. Jacobs says the combination is expected to make the company an employer of choice in the sector, where talent remains in high demand, forged on a breadth of opportunities advancing the quality, dependability and sustainability of infrastructure around the world.