PA Consulting and Jacobs announce agreement on future investment and strategic partnership

LONDON, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PA Consulting (PA), the consultancy that's Bringing Ingenuity to Life, today announced that global technical and professional services leader Jacobs has signed an agreement to invest in PA for a 65% shareholding in the company. The transaction, which values PA at £1.825 billion and is expected to close by the end of calendar Q1 2021 subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder consent, sees current shareholder The Carlyle Group exit its stake in PA.   

PA has grown strongly during the five-year Carlyle investment period through a combination of organic and M&A-led growth (seven acquisitions) which has driven global expansion. This has resulted in EBITDA more than doubling over the period of Carlyle's investment and compound annual revenue growth of 12% since 2016. 

From its inception in 1943, PA has worked with a wide range of clients – from start-ups with a promising idea to change the world to some of the most important global companies and organisations – to find innovative ways to be faster and nimbler, and to create the services and products that grow their businesses, delight their customers and serve citizens. PA has developed world-leading innovations, for example with Virgin Hyperloop to reinvent transport, with Ori Biotech to revolutionise cell and gene therapy manufacturing, and with iPredict, the world's first AI and machine learning system, to predict failures in critical underground electricity distribution assets. 

The new strategic partnership with Jacobs will enable PA to build on this success and to accelerate its growth plan through geographic expansion, particularly in the US, and additional acquisitions. The partnership will see PA further enhance its market-leading capabilities in innovation, design, digital and technology. The private equity style investment from Jacobs will allow PA to retain its independence, alongside current culture, brand and values. The continued share ownership by PA employees is a key feature of the transaction.