M&A activity snapshot
Fee-based construction and program management is one of the fastest-growing parts of A&E services, and buyers are paying for it. ENR's 2026 survey put combined CM/PM-for-fee revenue at its Top 100 firms at $36.9 billion, up 31.2%. Revenue at the Top 50 CM-for-fee firms rose 25.1% and at the Top 50 program management firms 35.7%, with data-center owners a major driver.
Three of the best-known independents have changed hands since 2021. CBRE bought 60% of Turner & Townsend for approximately £960 million, valuing it at about £1.6 billion. GISI bought Hill International in an all-cash transaction of approximately US$200 million, or $3.40 per share, plus assumed debt. In June 2026 Leonard Green completed its acquisition of Cumming Group from New Mountain Capital, terms undisclosed.
Below the top tier the field is mid-sized and fragmented. ENR's median Top 100 firm reported $83.5 million of revenue. LMM data providers do not report deal counts for this niche separately, so the deal record here comes from filings and sponsor releases.
Classification matters for anyone screening targets. The 2022 NAICS manual treats agency construction managers that provide oversight and scheduling only as general contractor type establishments. Its consulting cross-reference sends construction management to Sector 23 by type of construction project managed, such as 236220 for commercial buildings or 237990 for mass transit. A screen on 541618 alone will miss most of these firms.
Who is buying
Real estate services firms. CBRE now owns 70% of the combined Turner & Townsend/CBRE Project Management business and reports it as a standalone segment. JLL's Project Management revenue rose to $3,797.9 million in 2025 from $3,151.9 million, a figure that includes pass-through costs and fit-out work. Colliers combined its existing project management operations with engineering in 2024 and agreed to buy Ayesa Engineering, a 3,200-person multi-discipline engineering and project management firm.
PE platforms. Cumming is the clearest buy-and-build. When New Mountain invested in 2021 it had 1,100+ team members across 41 offices. At the 2026 sale it had approximately 2,900+ team members across more than 60 offices. Wind Point bought Vertex, which combines forensic consulting, construction management and owner's representation across 30 offices.
Consulting strategics. Accenture bought Anser Advisory's approximately 920 employees working on private sector and state and local public projects. It cited an estimated $88 billion of addressable market in North America. Accenture later took a majority stake in data center engineering and consulting firm DLB Associates.
Firms that stay independent. Some cost consultants remain partner-owned. In 2021 Rider Levett Bucknall expanded its North American shareholders to 26 individuals, describing itself as independent at a time when private equity is making inroads into the AEC industries.
What buyers look for
Agency work, not price risk. CMAA defines agency CM as the owner using the CM as its principal agent. Under CM at risk, the firm converts to the legal equivalent of a general contractor once a price is agreed. Buyers paying consulting multiples want the agency model. Guaranteed-maximum-price contracts invite contractor-style diligence on bonding and margin fade.
Clean fee revenue. Hill tracked consulting fee revenue, defined as revenue excluding amounts paid or due to subcontractors. In 2021 that was approximately 80.8% of total revenues. Buyers price the fee line, much as A&E buyers price net service revenue, and discount pass-through subconsultant and reimbursable costs.
Billing terms that track hours. Hill grouped its contracts into time and materials and fixed price, with T&M deals structured as basic time and materials, cost plus a margin or time and materials subject to a maximum contract value. Fee contracts that pay for staff time protect margin when projects slip.
Multi-year public programs. Program management usually runs in agency form over Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs) involving multiple projects, multiple sites. Transit capital plans, K-12 bond programs, and hospital campus programs give the backlog visibility buyers pay for. Hill drew 31.8% of 2021 revenue from U.S. state, regional and local governments. JLL serves public-sector clients, notably military and government entities, and educational institutions.
Credentialed people. The Certified Construction Manager is accredited by ANAB under the ISO 17024 standard, and CMAA says CCMs earn about 10% more than CMs who do not hold the credential. A buyer is acquiring that bench of CCMs, estimators and schedulers, so retention plans matter.
What makes a strong company
A construction management or owner's rep firm that commands a premium typically has:
- Agency-only revenue, or any at-risk work in a separate entity with its own bonding.
- Fee revenue reported net of subconsultant pass-through, with margins shown on that base.
- Multi-year program or on-call contracts with public owners, such as transit agencies, school districts with bond programs, and hospital systems.
- Repeat private clients in growing sectors, especially data centers, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
- Cost consulting, scheduling and project controls that sell across the full project life.
- A deep bench of CCMs and licensed engineers, with client relationships held below the founders.
Valuation and deal structure
Few CM/PM prices are public, so two filed deals frame the range. CBRE disclosed Turner & Townsend's adjusted EBITDA of approximately £124 million against a valuation of about £1.6 billion. That works out to about 12.9x adjusted EBITDA (Axia arithmetic: £1.6 billion divided by £124 million).
The structure was a partnership, not a clean exit. CBRE paid 55% of the cash at closing, and the partners kept the remaining 40% ownership interest. After CBRE folded in its own project management unit, it owns 70% of the combined business, which has grown revenue at a compound annual rate of more than 20%.
Hill shows the other end: a smaller, internationally exposed firm sold through a contested process. Godspeed Capital first offered $1.85 in cash per share, and GISI's price was amended to US$3.40 per share from US$2.85. Houlihan Lokey's precedent analysis applied 7.5x to 9.0x latest 12 months Adjusted EBITDA, implying $2.01 to $2.57 per share, below the final price.
The proxy's 2022 forecast table shows Adjusted EBITDA of 24,000, which Axia reads as $24 million because the table omits units. The roughly $200 million equity price alone was about 8.3x that figure before assumed debt (Axia arithmetic: US$200 million divided by $24 million). Smaller private owner's rep firms rarely disclose terms. To see where your own numbers sit, use the valuation tool.
Outlook
Expect more consolidation through 2027, led by real estate services firms and sponsor-to-sponsor trades of scaled platforms. Demand is strong: ENR reported domestic revenue up 19% to $24.3 billion, and 69.6% of firms filing both years reported higher CM/PM-for-fee revenue. Public programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act and the CHIPS and Science Act add multi-year program work.
The main risk is concentration. ENR ties much of 2025's growth to the AI data-center buildout, and a pullback there would hit the firms buyers now prize most. Firms with balanced public and private books should hold value better. For how buyers build lists of owner's rep targets, see how to build an M&A target list.
Own a construction management or owner's rep firm and want to know what it's worth before you talk to anyone? Run the valuation tool or see the parent Engineering & Environmental Services M&A page. See also: how to build an M&A target list.