Leidos completes $2.4B acquisition of design firm

Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos announced Monday that it has completed its $2.4 billion acquisition of Illinois-based utilities infrastructure design firm Entrust Solutions Group.

Leidos acquired the firm from the New York private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. With the purchase, Leidos will effectively double its presence in the energy infrastructure market and gain more than 3,100 Entrust employees with expertise in electric grid engineering and natural gas infrastructure.

The company said the acquisition will expand its engineering capabilities and broaden its base of utility customers.

“As we welcome our new teammates, we continue to strengthen our position as a leading provider of power engineering and design services,”  Leidos Homeland Sector President Roy Stevens said in a statement. “As utilities address accelerating load growth and resilience requirements, integrating Entrust’s capabilities enables us to deliver comprehensive infrastructure solutions that help strengthen and secure the grid.”

Leidos previously said it would fund the transaction through a combination of new debt, cash on hand and commercial paper.

A company spokesperson said that over time, Entrust will be integrated into Leidos as part of a unified energy infrastructure organization. Entrust’s leadership will continue to serve in key leadership roles.

Leidos has about 47,000 global employees and reported revenue of $17.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended Jan. 2.

Although the company laid off 93 workers in Ashburn this year due to the loss of a federal contract, it won an Air Force contract for $455 million this month.