Washington Group International

Washington Group International was an American corporation which provided integrated engineering, construction, and management services to businesses and governments around the world. Based in Boise, Idaho, WGI had approximately 25,000 employees working in over 40 states and more than 30 countries. Its primary areas of expertise were: infrastructure, mining, industrial/process, energy & environment, and power. It was acquired by URS Corporation of San Francisco in November 2007 for $3.1 billion,[1] and currently operates as the "Energy and Construction Division" of URS.[2]

Washington Construction

At the age of 30, Dennis R. Washington founded Washington Construction Company in Missoula, Montana in 1964. He guided the company to the top of the civil construction market in Montana, and expanded into mining, industrial construction, and environmental cleanup work. As his company grew into a major regional firm, Washington's vision for the future continued to expand also - leading to a series of acquisitions that produced an international company.

In 1993 it expanded its heavy civil construction-operation, when it merged with Kasler Corporation, a California-based firm with large-scale operations in heavy-civil construction. Washington Construction Group Inc. was then based in Highland, California.[3]

Morrison Knudsen Co.

In 1996, the much smaller Washington Construction Group merged with Morrison-Knudsen Corp. of Boise, which had been in financial difficulty.[3]

Acquisition by URS

On May 28, 2007, URS Corporation, based in San Francisco, announced it had reached an initial agreement with WGI management to purchase the entire company for $2.6 billion (about $80 per share). According to the plan, WGI would operate as a division of URS, with the headquarters remaining in Boise. On November 15, the deal was sweetened and finalized for a purchase price of $3.1 billion ($95.116 per share).[1]

URS competitors include Bechtel, Fluor Corp., CB&I, Kiewit, and Jacobs Engineering Group.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "URS replaces head of new Washington division". San Francisco Business Times. January 8, 2008.
  2. ↑ urs-wng.com
  3. 1 2 "Knudsen Sets Merger With Washington". New York Times. Associated Press. May 17, 1996.
Morrison-Knudsen ballast hopper with CIC markings on the CRANDIC at Cedar Rapids, Iowa
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/25/2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.