Professional services firms firm WSP has agreed a deal to acquire transport, energy, and environment consultancy Ricardo.

Headquartered in the UK, Ricardo operates in more than 20 countries and has 2,700 staff based across Europe, Australia, North America, Asia. and the Middle East.

It delivers strategic, advisory and engineering solutions in the global transport, energy and environment sectors.

WSP already operates in more than 50 countries and employs approximately 73,000 staff.

Over the last few years, Ricardo has been restructuring to concentrate on its EE business – which takes in air quality, water management, energy resilience, policy strategy and advisory services – as well as its rail and mass transit operations.

Under WSP’s ownership, Ricardo will continue its ongoing strategic review of its automotive and industrial (A&I) and performance products (PP) operations which is “likely to result in a sale” of the A&I and PP businesses at the “appropriate time”.

WSP said the acquisition represents an “excellent opportunity” for the company to progress its 2025-2027 Global Strategic Action Plan and accelerate its expansion in targeted high-growth areas.

Ricardo’s expertise in rail, air quality, water management, energy resilience, policy strategy and advisory will boost WSP’s offering in core market sectors – plus the deal will strengthen WSP’s presence in several key markets, including the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. 

“The proposed acquisition of Ricardo perfectly aligns with WSP’s vision for sustainable, compounding growth and our clear ambitions to expand in advisory, energy transition, water solutions, and the rail sector over the next three years,” said Alexandre L’Heureux, president and CEO of WSP.

“We are poised to enhance our ability to deliver innovative solutions as we combine our global reach and resources with Ricardo’s complementary expertise. Moreover, the shared entrepreneurial spirit and technical excellence between our teams position us to create further value for our clients.

“We look forward to welcoming Ricardo’s talented professionals to WSP and seizing new opportunities with our broadened service offering.”

It is expected that the acquisition will be completed in Q4 2025.