AECOM

AECOM is a Dallas-headquartered multinational professional services company focused on infrastructure, the built environment, government programs, and related technical services. Its work commonly spans the full or substantial portion of a project lifecycle, from strategy, economics, feasibility studies, planning, architecture, and engineering through environmental assessment, program management, construction management, asset management, operations support, and decommissioning. The company serves public agencies, national and local governments, defense and security organizations, utilities, developers, institutional owners, and other commercial clients. The company’s name is derived from the terms Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Management. Although AECOM has participated in construction and has historically owned construction-related businesses, its post-2020 strategy has emphasized professional services with comparatively lower capital intensity and risk. Its principal areas of activity include transportation, buildings and places, water, environment, energy, defense, international development, digital and cyber services, and program delivery. Typical assignments include airports, railways, roads, bridges, ports, water and wastewater systems, public buildings, urban districts, environmental remediation programs, and large government or institutional capital programs. AECOM traces its corporate lineage to businesses associated with Ashland Oil, including the acquisition of the architectural and engineering firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall in 1984. Ashland Technology was separated from Ashland Oil through an employee-backed buyout in 1990, creating the independent company that became AECOM Technology Corporation. The business expanded through acquisitions of engineering, environmental, architecture, planning, water, construction-management, and international-development firms. Important additions included Metcalf & Eddy, Maunsell, UMA Engineering, EDAW, ENSR, Earth Tech, Tishman Construction, and URS Corporation. AECOM completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. The 2014 agreement to acquire URS, completed in 2015, substantially increased the company’s engineering, construction, government, and technical-services capabilities. In subsequent years, AECOM divested its Management Services, Power construction, and Civil construction operations. The Management Services transaction created Amentum, while the construction divestitures removed substantial lower-margin construction exposure. AECOM described these actions as a transformation toward a higher-margin professional-services model. AECOM operates internationally and has worked for clients in more than 150 countries. It does not primarily sell standardized consumer goods; its brand value is based on specialist expertise, multidisciplinary teams, project delivery experience, technical credibility, and long-term institutional relationships. Its business is therefore influenced by public infrastructure budgets, government procurement, private capital expenditure, construction and real-estate cycles, interest rates, regulation, and the timing and risk profile of major programs. AECOM is listed under the ticker ACM and remains an active global infrastructure-services brand.

AECOM’s roots extend to Ashland Oil and its earlier industrial businesses. Ashland acquired Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, a Los Angeles architecture and engineering firm, in 1984. The business became part of Ashland Technology Corporation, whose leadership advocated separating the technical-services operation from Ashland’s petroleum-focused activities. An employee-backed buyout completed in 1990 created the independent company that adopted the AECOM name, representing Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Management. During the 1990s and 2000s, AECOM assembled a broad professional-services portfolio through acquisitions and organic expansion. It added urban design and sustainability expertise through EDAW, economic and planning capabilities through Economic Research Associates, and environmental expertise through ENSR and The RETEC Group. The acquisitions of Metcalf & Eddy and Maunsell expanded water, wastewater, engineering, and international capabilities. UMA Engineering strengthened the Canadian business, while the additions of Earth Tech and Tishman Construction broadened technical consulting and construction management. AECOM went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. It continued to expand its government, development, and infrastructure work, including the acquisition of The Services Group, which served USAID and other international-development institutions. In 2014, AECOM announced the acquisition of URS Corporation, and the combination was completed in 2015. URS brought major engineering, construction, government, energy, and technical-services operations, materially increasing AECOM’s scale. The company also acquired ACE International Consultants and Hunt Construction Group during the same period. AECOM bought Shimmick Construction in 2017. The acquisition later became associated with criticism from officials concerning delays to a Golden Gate Bridge safety-barrier project. Separately, AECOM faced strategic pressure to simplify its portfolio and improve the risk and margin profile of its business. In 2019 it announced the sale of its Management Services division, which supported government clients including the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense. The transaction closed in 2020 and created Amentum. AECOM then sold its Power construction business and its Civil construction business, including Shimmick, in transactions announced in 2020 and completed in 2020–2021. These divestitures marked a shift away from owning substantial construction operations and toward infrastructure consulting, design, engineering, program management, environmental services, and other professional services. In 2020, W. Troy Rudd became chief executive and Lara Poloni became president. In 2021, AECOM announced the relocation of its global headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas. The company continues to operate internationally across transportation, buildings, water, environment, energy, government, defense, digital services, and urban development. Its project-based model means that results depend on public and private investment, procurement cycles, project execution, regulation, and client demand.

1. 2021Global headquarters moves to Dallas

   AECOM announced and implemented the relocation of its global headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas.

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2. 2020Management Services becomes Amentum

   AECOM completed the divestiture of its Management Services division, which became Amentum.

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3. 2015URS combination completed

   AECOM completed its acquisition of URS Corporation, expanding global engineering, construction, government, and technical services.

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4. 2010Tishman Construction acquisition

   The transaction strengthened construction-management capabilities in the United States.

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5. 2007Initial public offering

   AECOM listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under ACM.

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6. 2005EDAW and ENSR join AECOM

   AECOM added urban design, landscape, sustainability, and environmental capabilities.

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7. 2000Metcalf & Eddy and Maunsell acquisitions

   The acquisitions expanded water, wastewater, engineering, and international operations.

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8. 1990AECOM becomes an independent company

   An employee-backed buyout separated Ashland Technology from Ashland Oil and created the independent AECOM organization.

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9. 1984Ashland acquires DMJM

   Ashland acquired Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, establishing a major architecture and engineering foundation for the later AECOM business.

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A global, multidisciplinary infrastructure and professional services platform serving governments, public agencies, institutional owners, and major private-sector clients.

• Infrastructure consulting and advisoryProfessional services

  AECOM advises governments, agencies, investors, and asset owners on infrastructure strategy, economics, feasibility, planning, procurement, financing, resilience, and delivery. Assignments can cover individual assets or entire infrastructure systems, particularly in transportation, water, buildings, energy, and urban development.

• Architecture and engineeringDesign and engineering

  The company provides architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, systems engineering, and multidisciplinary design. Its work includes buildings, airports, railways, roads, bridges, ports, water facilities, public campuses, and complex urban districts.

• Program and project managementProgram delivery

  AECOM manages complex capital programs on behalf of public and private clients. Services may include governance, procurement support, cost and schedule control, risk management, stakeholder coordination, quality assurance, claims support, and owner’s-representative functions.

• Environmental servicesEnvironmental consulting

  Environmental services include assessment, permitting, impact analysis, remediation, contaminated-site management, sustainability, climate adaptation, ecological work, and environmental engineering. These capabilities are often integrated into transportation, industrial, government, and urban-development programs.

• Water and wastewaterWater infrastructure

  AECOM supports water and wastewater owners with master planning, treatment-plant design, network planning, hydraulic analysis, asset management, resilience, construction support, and operational improvement. The offering serves municipal, industrial, and regional water systems.

• Government, defense, and international development servicesGovernment technical services

  AECOM provides technical, planning, engineering, cyber, risk, and program-delivery support to government and defense clients as well as international-development institutions. The former Management Services division was divested and became Amentum in 2020.

• 2003Jinji Lake landscape plan

  China

  AECOM developed a landscape plan for Jinji Lake in Suzhou Industrial Park, helping transform a shallow marshy water body into a major lakeside public park.

  Outcome. The plan received recognition and contributed to the lakefront’s development as a prominent public landscape.

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• 2025Acquire ConsigliM&A

  AECOM sought to add artificial-intelligence capabilities relevant to infrastructure and professional-services work.

  What changed. AECOM acquired Norway-based artificial-intelligence startup Consigli.

  Aftermath. The acquisition added an AI-oriented capability to AECOM’s technology and infrastructure-services portfolio.

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• 2021Relocate global headquartersStrategy

  AECOM sought to establish its global headquarters in Dallas while continuing to operate as an international company.

  What changed. The company announced the relocation of its global headquarters from Los Angeles, California, to Dallas, Texas.

  Aftermath. Dallas became the company’s headquarters location.

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• 2020Exit selected construction operationsStrategy

  AECOM was repositioning itself as a higher-margin, lower-risk professional-services company.

  What changed. AECOM announced sales of its Power construction business and Civil construction business, including Shimmick Construction.

  Aftermath. The divestitures reduced AECOM’s direct construction exposure and reinforced its focus on consulting, design, engineering, and program management.

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• 2020Appoint new senior leadershipStrategy

  The leadership change followed a chief-executive succession process and discussions involving activist shareholder Starboard Value.

  What changed. AECOM selected W. Troy Rudd as chief executive and Lara Poloni as president.

  Aftermath. The appointments established the company’s current leadership direction during its professional-services transformation.

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• 2019Divest Management ServicesStrategy

  AECOM pursued a simpler business model with greater emphasis on professional services and less exposure to lower-margin or higher-risk operating businesses.

  What changed. The company agreed to sell its Management Services division to private-equity firms American Securities and Lindsay Goldberg.

  Aftermath. The transaction closed in 2020 and the business became Amentum.

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• 2014Acquire URS CorporationM&A

  AECOM sought to increase its scale and broaden engineering, construction, government, energy, and technical-services capabilities.

  What changed. AECOM announced a cash-and-stock acquisition of URS Corporation, with the transaction valued at approximately six billion U.S. dollars on an enterprise-value basis.

  Aftermath. The combination was completed in 2015 and significantly expanded AECOM’s global service platform.

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• 2025AECOM acquires Norway-based artificial-intelligence startup Consigli

  AECOM acquired Consigli to add artificial-intelligence capabilities to its infrastructure-services platform.

  M&AProduct launch
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• 2021AECOM announces global headquarters relocation to Dallas

  AECOM announced that its global headquarters would move from Los Angeles to Dallas, Texas.

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• 2020AECOM changes chief executive and president

  W. Troy Rudd was selected as chief executive and Lara Poloni as president during a leadership transition involving activist-shareholder representation.

  Leadership change
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• 2020AECOM completes Management Services divestiture

  The divested business began operating as Amentum.

  M&A
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• 2020AECOM announces sale of Power construction business

  AECOM announced the sale of its Power construction business as part of its professional-services transformation.

  M&A
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• 2020AECOM sells Civil construction business

  The Civil construction operations, including Shimmick Construction, were sold to Oroco Capital and transferred in early 2021.

  M&A
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• 2019AECOM announces sale of Management Services division

  AECOM agreed to sell its government-oriented Management Services division to private-equity buyers; the resulting company became Amentum.

  M&A
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• 2017Officials link Golden Gate safety-barrier delay to Shimmick acquisition

  Officials at the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District attributed a two-year delay in a safety-barrier project to issues associated with the acquisition of Shimmick Construction.

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• 2015AECOM completes URS transaction

  The completed combination broadened AECOM’s engineering, government, construction, and technical-services platform.

  M&A
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• 2014AECOM announces acquisition of URS Corporation

  AECOM announced a cash-and-stock transaction to acquire URS, an engineering, construction, and technical-services company.

  M&A
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• 2010AECOM acquires Tishman Construction

  The acquisition strengthened AECOM’s construction-management business in the United States.

  M&A
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• 2008AECOM acquires Earth Tech from Tyco International

  The transaction expanded AECOM’s consulting and engineering capabilities.

  M&A
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• 2007AECOM completes initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange

  AECOM became a publicly traded company through an IPO on the NYSE.

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1. AECOM
2. AECOM official company overview
3. AECOM official website