Fulfilling its stated commitment to continue expansion through acquisitions and expand its professional services position in the booming energy and data center sector, WSP Global Inc., Montreal, will purchase TRC Cos. Inc., a US-based industry leader, to its private equity owner Warburg Pincus LLC with the financial backing of its largest shareholder.
The Canadian engineering giant announced late Dec. 15 that it will pay $3.3 billion in cash for the Windsor, Conn.-based consulting engineer in a deal set to close in the first quarter of 2026, adding about 8,000 employees to its workforce. The transaction is backed by long-time WSP investor Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, as well as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and JPMorgan Chase & Co., which committed debt financing for the deal, WSP said.
The purchase price is 14.5 times TRC’s adjusted net earnings for the year ending June 30, 2025, WSP said. The deal will bring WSP to a number of people 27,000 global professionals with $7.2 billion in net revenue by 2025 pro forma.
The acquisition follows WSP’s purchase last year of Idaho-based engineering firm Power Engineers in a $1.78 billion deal that added 4,000 employees and a strong power sector market share to its business.
Globally, power and energy “will now represent a fifth of our platform, a sector with a track record of double-digit organic growth,” WSP President and CEO Alexandre L’Heureux told analysts, adding that energy market work would account for 34% of its US net revenue. “We are consolidating WSP’s industry leadership in the sector…and becoming the largest and most diversified engineering and design firm [in the U.S.]He said the acquisition also brings TRC’s capabilities in the water, environment and transportation markets.
TRC Corp. ranks #17 on ENR’s Top 500 Design Companies list, with global revenue of $1.47 billion by 2024, with $27 billion outside the US and approximately 57% in the power sector, 21% in hazardous waste and 12% in transportation. TRC is also ranked number 5 in the top 500 companies in the electricity sector and number 3 in transmission and distribution. WSP ranks fourth on the Top 500 list with global revenue of $4.79 billion, with about $186 million described as international and 26% in power, 38% in transportation and 14% in buildings.
TRC President and CEO Christopher P. Vincze said his company’s “innovative and technology-driven energy business, underscored by an advanced use of digital, will significantly strengthen” WSP’s power and energy capabilities. “Our businesses are highly complementary across capabilities, clients and geographies.”
TRC’s client base includes many blue chip clients, “with half of their revenue coming from master service agreements,” L’Heureux said. “TRC’s business is very recurring and based on long-term relationships.” It cites “nearly 60,000 projects delivered by 2025.” TRC will also introduce new energy efficiency services to WSP, he said.
According to L’Heureux, the combined companies will “cover the entire infrastructure and utilities value chain” as well as “create potential cross-selling opportunities in electrical engineering, environmental solutions and advisory services.”
Despite shared customers among the top 20 utilities owned by American investors and other energy developers, The Happy It said the combined services will be “highly complementary” and cover “all aspects of electricity generation, transmission, design and distribution”.
WSP did not disclose by ENR’s press time how the new acquisition would be combined with existing energy-related units and whether the integration includes Vincze’s continued participation.
The deal is “a move of great conviction to dominate a fast-growing segment of US infrastructure: the modernization and expansion of the electric grid. WSP is effectively doubling down on the construction of the US grid, aiming to combine its scale with TRC’s utility relationships and program delivery experience,” said online financial publication TechStock.2.
“In this context, WSP is essentially betting that the next decade of infrastructure will be less about one-off mega-projects and more about multi-year portfolios of network and environmental programs: work that rewards scale, specialized talent and the ability to manage complexity,” the publication added.
L’Heureux said with the TRC deal and two smaller acquisitions this year, “we are committing more than $5 billion in 2025 alone, the first year of our new strategic cycle, adding that since 2021, WSP has closed 20 acquisitions. The company “aims to attract and empower the brightest minds in our industry for scientific home engines,” the advisers said and advisers. Vincze,
Vincze told employees that despite the companies’ different fiscal year calendars, with TRC’s current year ending June 30, 2026, it will be “business as usual” until then, with the company generally continuing benefits and systems throughout calendar year 2026. Leadership will also be “business as usual,” and any changes resulting from the combination will be “announced at a future date, if necessary.”
