WSP agrees to buy TRC for $3.3 billion, adds about 8,000 employees

WSP Global said it has entered into an agreement to acquire TRC Companies for US$3.3 billion in cash, a transaction the buyer says will add roughly 8,000 professionals and lift its combined U.S. workforce to about 27,000 employees. WSP’s Dec. 15, 2025 announcement values the deal at approximately CAD$4.5 billion using an exchange rate of 1.3762 USD/CAD and outlines an equity package that includes roughly $850 million in new issuance, made up of a $732 million bought deal and about $118 million in a concurrent private placement with La Caisse.

The companies framed the transaction as a strategic push into power and energy engineering that reshapes WSP’s revenue mix. WSP said the combined U.S. business would derive about 34% of net revenues from the Power & Energy sector and that Power & Energy would represent roughly 20% of WSP’s global net revenues — a business it described as a double-digit organic growth sector. TRC, headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut and majority owned by funds managed by Warburg Pincus LLC, has “more than five decades” of utility experience, according to coverage accompanying the announcement.

WSP’s press materials cast the move as central to its 2025-2027 strategic plan. “The proposed Acquisition of TRC is a defining moment in the execution of WSP’s 2025-2027 Strategic Plan,” the company said in a press statement. The release added that joining forces will “position our business for accelerated organic growth and create an integrated platform with industry-leading capabilities in advisory, engineering, and program management,” language that signals an ambition to take on larger, integrated utility projects.

TRC’s chairman and chief executive, Christopher P. Vincze, welcomed the combination in the company’s financial communications, saying in part: “The joining of our two firms will create significant and exciting opportunities for our people, our clients and the communities in which we live and work. With TRC’s innovative, technology-oriented power business, underscored by an advanced use of digital, we will significantly strengthen WSP’s Power & Energy offering.” TRC posted a brief response on LinkedIn: “TRC is thrilled to join forces with WSP as we build what's next - together.”

Beyond the headline numbers, the deal underscores several market dynamics. Consolidation in engineering and design is reshaping supplier scale as utilities and governments demand integrated delivery for grid upgrades, transmission buildouts and resilience projects tied to electrification and decarbonization. For WSP, the acquisition is pitched as both a capability play in advanced grid and digital services and a geographic one: the company said roughly two-thirds of its global net revenues will come from Canada and the Americas after the transaction closes.

The combination could have ripple effects for competition and procurement. WSP’s statement that the acquisition will make it the largest engineering and design firm in the U.S. by revenue signals an intensified competitive posture, though the announcement references a footnote for that claim. The transaction’s size and the shifting revenue concentration toward Power & Energy could invite regulatory scrutiny or prolonged integration tasks, particularly in a sector that intersects federal funding, state utility commissions and multijurisdictional permitting.

WSP’s public materials describe the agreement and financing plan but do not include a definitive closing date or details of regulatory clearances in the excerpts released. Sellers and specific closing conditions were not detailed beyond noting Warburg Pincus as the prior majority owner and La Caisse’s participation in the private placement. If completed, the deal would mark one of the largest strategic moves in the engineering sector in recent years and illustrates how private-equity-backed infrastructure companies remain ripe targets as global decarbonization and grid investment accelerate.