Willdan Group to acquire energy practice division of EYP
Anaheim-based engineering and consulting firm Willdan Group has signed a letter of intent to acquire The Weidt Group, the energy practice of Albany-based design and engineering firm EYP.
Founded in 1964, Willdan deliver technical and consulting services to government, utilities, and commercial and industrial firms. The public company recorded $273 million in revenue in 2017, and has more than 800 employees, with a particularly heavy presence in California and New York.
The consulting firm’s major practice areas are engineering, economics and strategic planning, program administration, emerging technology and research and development, and energy and sustainability. Within the energy practice, Willdan helps utilities clients upgrade grids and supports facility owners with the development of energy-efficient buildings.
In April 2018, Willdan acquired energy engineering and sustainability firm Newcomb Anderson McCormick, which had a strong client roster of California higher-education institutions and municipalities. In November 2018, the company acquired Lime Energy, a provider of energy efficiency programs to five of the 10 largest municipal utilities in the US.
Willdan will further bolster its energy consulting offering with the eventual addition of The Weidt Group, which it has signed a letter of intent to acquire. The energy practice of Albany-based design and engineering firm EYP works with energy analysis data to help clients optimize their building energy efficiency investments. The consulting firm offers services in the areas of utility programs, energy design assistance, benchmarking, building performance, and energy software. The Weidt Group has nine US offices.
The firm was an attractive acquisition because of its multi-decade relationships with utilities in a number of states in which Willdan didn’t operate, namely Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Weidt also adds new construction energy expertise to Willdan.
“We have had a great deal of success cross-selling the services of our acquisitions across our client base and generating revenue synergies that have accelerated our organic growth,” Tom Brisban, Willdan chairman and CEO, said. “We believe we will have similar opportunities with The Weidt Group, and we look forward to integrating their expertise into our national business development efforts. We are pleased to welcome all employees of The Weidt Group to Willdan.”
The Weidt Group had revenue of approximately $14 million in 2018. The acquisition is slated to close later this month.
“As part of Willdan, we are excited to continue to innovate and leverage great minds and data analytics to solve future energy challenges,” Jim Douglas, The Weidt Group president, said. “Our clients will benefit from our access to a much wider range of services and resources.”
Related: Baringa Partners opens energy and utilities practice in New York office
