Domestic and international M&A activity remains active

Commentary & Insight

This week saw continued M&A activity, with six domestic deals announced across TN, TX, NY, SC, and FL. International deal flow was notably active, with seven transactions reported in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Egypt, and Spain, including two cross‑border acquisitions by U.S.-based firms. Several larger transactions underscore sustained strategic interest in both domestic and global markets.

Domestic Transactions

4/21/2026 
Planning and design consulting firm Kimley-Horn (Raleigh, NC) (ENR #8) strengthened its master planning, landscape architecture, and entitlement capabilities with the acquisition of Gamble Design Collaborative (Franklin, TN). Link to details >

4/20/2026 
Employee-owned industry leader LJA Engineering (Houston, TX) (ENR #52), and one of our Ten Movers and Shakers to Watch in 2026, acquired Sanchez-Salazar & Associates (San Antonio, TX), a civil engineering firm specializing in transportation engineering, CM, and inspection services. Link to details >

4/21/2026 
Ennead Architects (New York, NY), an architecture firm with experience in healthcare, education, workplace, culture, and science facilities, joined integrated global designer CannonDesign (New York, NY) (ENR #79). Link to details >

4/22/2026 
Novus Architects (Mount Pleasant, SC) joined architecture and planning firm INVISION (Waterloo, IA) under The HFW Companies network (St. Louis, MO) (ENR #203). Link to details >

4/20/2026 
Grovecourt Capital Partners (West Palm Beach, FL) invested in Guide Architecture (Dallas, TX), a healthcare-focused architecture and planning firm serving health systems. Link to details >

4/19/2026 
ACES US, the subsidiary of the Middle East’s leading construction services and geotechnical engineering services firm, ACES Group (Amman, Jordan), acquired Meskel & Associates Engineering (Jacksonville, FL), a geotechnical engineering, materials testing and inspection, and CEI firm. Link to details >

Global Transactions

4/21/2026 
Pioneering AEG and strategic consulting firm Woolpert (Dayton, OH) (ENR #39) acquired UMC Architects (Newark-on-Trent, UK), an architecture firm known for its industrial, logistics, and large-scale redevelopment expertise.
Link to details >

4/22/2026 
Concord Engineering Group (Voorhees, NJ) and CEM Engineering (St. Catharines, Canada) merged their engineering operations, uniting their power and infrastructure teams under a single, integrated management structure. Link to details >

4/21/2026 
Engineering services and nuclear firm AtkinsRéalis (Montreal, Canada) (ENR #20) entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec (WGA) (Adelaide, Australia), an engineering and project management firm. Link to details >

4/6/2026 
Bureau Veritas (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) signed an agreement to acquire Lotusworks (Sligo, Ireland), a firm that offers commissioning, quality assurance and quality control, calibration, maintenance, and CM services for mission critical facilities for semiconductors manufacturers and data center owners. Link to details >

4/16/2026 
Applus+ (Madrid, Spain), a testing, inspection, and certification firm, strengthened its cybersecurity services with the acquisition of Teron Labs (Canberra, Australia), a cybersecurity evaluation laboratory specializing in product security and cryptographic certifications. Link to details >

4/16/2026 
Hassan Allam (Cairo, Egypt), an engineering and construction, investment, and development firm, agreed to acquire MetiPro (Cairo, Egypt), the engineering, procurement, and construction arm of Metito group (Dubai, UAE). Link to details >

4/21/2026 
Phenna Group (Nottingham, UK), a family of businesses providing testing, inspection, certification, and compliance (TICC) services, acquired AUCATEL-EIC Group (Barcelona, Spain), a group focused on inspection, certification, and compliance services, with a strong focus on urban and environmental sectors. Link to details >