A new global engineering and design-build giant is set to emerge at month�s end as CDM, the Cambridge, Mass.-based design firm-constructor specializing in environmental infrastructure acquires Wilbur Smith Associates, the Columbia, S.C., transportation engineer. The transaction, under way since early 2010, will create a $1.2-billion company that meshes in culture, specialties, employee ownership and international presence, its executives say.
The acquisition, which is set to wrap on Feb. 25, creates a company with about 5,700 employees, about 25% of whom are based abroad, says Richard D. Fox, CDM chairman and CEO.