Flatiron and Dragados in North America are merging to create what their owners say will be “the second largest civil engineering and construction company in the United States”.

The new company, Flatiron Dragados, will be 61.8% owned by Spain’s ACS Group, which owns Dragados, and 38.2% owned by Germany’s Hochtief, which owns Flatiron.

Hochtief itself is a subsidiary of ACS Group.

Hochtief said the combined company will be chaired by Peter Davoren, who is also chairman, chief executive, and president of Turner Construction, currently listed as the biggest US contractor, and another ACS Group subsidiary.

The current chief executive of Flatiron, Javier Sevilla, will be the combined company’s chief executive.

The transaction closing is expected during the second half of 2024.

The integrated business had a backlog of $17.2bn in the first half of this year, and revenue of $3.1bn.

Revenue in 2023 was $6.1bn.

Combined, the two companies have a long-standing presence in 24 US states and eight Canadian provinces.

“Bringing together Flatiron and Dragados creates a strong platform for organic growth in North America,” said Hochtief chief executive Juan Santamaría.

“They have the expertise, the long-term clients and are geographically complementary, providing significant synergies and economies of scale.”