URS has completed its acquisition of Washington Group International for a total price of approximately US$3.1bn following the mid-year announcement of the proposed deal.
Washington Group International is now the Washington Division of URS. In a statement, URS said that the merged engineering and construction services units of the US firms meant the merged group was now one of the few fully-integrated engineering, construction and technical services firms that can take on all project stages.
The deal had the backing of the boards of both URS and Washington Group International, and the close of the purchase follows approvals given by the shareholders of each firm.
Initially, the deal was said to be valued at US$2.6bn with Washington Group International shareholders being offered US$43.80 plus 0.772 shares of URS stock for each share held. In the final deal, the exchange rate moved to US$43.80 plus 0.9 shares of URS stock for each share held by Washington Group International shareholders. However, the payout was also possible as all stock or all cash equivalents.
Stephen Hanks, former chief executive officer of Washington Group International, has been appointed president of Washington Division and joins the board of URS.
The companies have tunnel project experience that covers the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, the Metro Gold Eastside Extension in Los Angeles, the Long Island Rail Road East Side Access.
