Jacobs Sells Spin Off, Merger Business Lines with Amentum

CEO Bob Pragada says transaction is in "best interests" of company and stakeholders.

Jacobs' critical mission solutions business includes its 10-year COMET contract fo manage high-profile NASA programs such as the Artemis moonshot and International Space Station. Pictured here, a crawler-transporter moves a spacecraft to a launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Photo courtesy NASA

After announcing last May the spin off of its critical mission solutions and cyber intelligence businesses, Jacobs said the company will respectively sell and merge parts of those lines in a deal with Virginia-based consultant Amentum.

The cash transaction, set to close by the second half of 2024, would give Jacobs shareholders up to a 63% ownership stake in Amentum while boosting the Virginia-based commercial services contractor's talent base to more than 53,000 employees, the Nov. 20 announcement from Jacobs said.

The Dallas-based company said it will retain its data solutions and digital technologies businesses under divergent solutions.

In a statement highlighting the purchase, Jacobs CEO Bob Pragada underscored that the "tax efficient transaction" is "in the best interests of the company and our stakeholders."

"By separating the CMS business and the associated Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, Jacobs will streamline our business portfolio and transform into a more focused, higher-margin company more closely aligned with key global mega trends," said Pragada. "I am confident [their] ... teams are poised for continued success in their new chapter as part of a more focused, independent public company."

Established in 2020, Amentum was created via a spinoff of AECOM's management services group, acquiring DynCorp International in 2020 and PAE Inc. in 2022. For Amentum, the transaction will create a "leading provider of systems integration and technology solutions," said CEO John Heller. He remains CEO of the combined unit, which takes an as yet undisclosed new one.

When the deal wraps, Jacobs Executive Chair and former CEO Steve Demetriou will serve as executive chair of the combined company. Jacobs' CMS president Steve Arnette, who started in his current role at around that same time, has been appointed chief operating officer. "Our combined company will deliver extensive expertise in the government's highest priority areas of energy, space exploration, intelligence and analytics, and digital modernization," said Heller. "We look forward to the union of our strong teams and a bright future ahead."

According to Jacobs, its cyber and intelligence solutions unit generated $807 million in revenue in the firm's fiscal 2023.

Jacobs ranked No. 1 on ENR's 2023 Top 500 Design Firms list.

This article has been updated from its previous headline, Jacobs Sells Government, Cyber Units to Amentum for $1B.

Emell Derra Adolphus has more than a decade of writing and journalism experience. He is senior editor of ENR’s Top Lists and Survey Rankings at ENR magazine and frequently contributes stories on technology, climate resiliency, diversity, equity and inclusion.

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