Leidos to Acquire Power Design Firm ENTRUST, Expanding Its Energy Infrastructure Footprint Across the U.S.

RESTON, Virginia (Jan. 26, 2026) — Leidos announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ENTRUST Solutions Group from Kohlberg in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.4 billion. The move is designed to significantly scale Leidos’ engineering services for utilities and accelerate its position in the fast-growing market for grid modernization, resilience, and next-generation energy infrastructure.

In plain terms: Leidos is buying a major power and energy engineering firm at a time when utilities are facing bigger loads, tougher reliability expectations, and more pressure to upgrade aging systems. With ENTRUST, Leidos expects to broaden its customer base, add new capabilities, and extend deeper into the utility ecosystem—spanning not only electric transmission and distribution, but also areas such as utility gas and electric generation infrastructure.

What’s Happening and Why It Matters

Leidos has long been known for technology and engineering work across government and commercial markets. Over the past two decades, it has also built a strong presence in utility engineering—especially on the electric side, with a heavy focus on transmission and distribution (T&D). ENTRUST brings breadth and scale across the power delivery spectrum, extending from generation through transmission and distribution, and serving both electric and gas utilities.

This is a strategic bet on a simple reality: the U.S. grid and related energy infrastructure are being asked to do more than ever before. Electrification trends, growing industrial demand, and data center expansion are pushing load forecasts upward. At the same time, extreme weather events have raised expectations for grid resilience. That combination has made engineering services—planning, design, modernization, and asset integrity—more central to how utilities spend their budgets.

Deal Snapshot: Key Terms at a Glance

Purchase Price and Structure

Leidos said the acquisition value is approximately $2.4 billion and will be completed as an all-cash transaction. Leidos expects to fund the purchase using a combination of new debt, cash on hand, and commercial paper.

Timing and Closing Conditions

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

Financial Expectations

Leidos expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin, and to be accretive to non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in 2027.

Advisors

Leidos retained Citi as financial advisor, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as legal advisor, and PwC as accounting advisor.

How ENTRUST Changes Leidos’ Energy Business

Leidos said the acquisition will effectively double the size of its approximately $600 million energy infrastructure engineering business. That segment has been described as delivering strong growth and margins over a multi-year period, and the company is clearly aiming to scale it faster by adding ENTRUST’s footprint and customer relationships.

ENTRUST also expands Leidos’ reach beyond its historic strengths. Where Leidos has emphasized electric utility engineering, ENTRUST brings broader exposure, including work that reaches into gas utility markets and additional parts of the electric value chain. This matters because many utilities are planning integrated infrastructure upgrades—electric, gas, and hybrid programs—especially as reliability and capacity needs rise.

Scale: People and Coverage

Following the transaction, the combined organization is expected to have more than 5,500 energy professionals. ENTRUST alone has more than 3,100 professionals across 40+ locations in North America, offering engineering, consulting, design, asset integrity, data solutions, and automation services.

That kind of scale can be a competitive advantage in utility engineering. Large modernization programs often require consistent staffing across regions, specialized expertise (protection & controls, substation design, system planning, permitting support, automation, and data), and the ability to ramp up quickly when project pipelines surge.

Executive Perspective: What Leaders Are Signaling

Leidos CEO Tom Bell described the combination as a direct fit: ENTRUST’s engineering capabilities and customer base complement Leidos, and ENTRUST has shown consistent growth and profitability. He also framed the deal as aligned with a national priority to expand and strengthen America’s energy infrastructure, including reliability and resilience improvements for aging systems and extreme weather conditions.

ENTRUST CEO Adam Biggam positioned the acquisition as a way to unite power and energy engineering expertise into a more end-to-end infrastructure platform, supported by resources, technology, and reach to handle complex utility and power-market challenges.

In corporate-speak, both sides are emphasizing three things:

• Complementary capability (not just “bigger,” but “broader and better”).
• Utility market momentum (budgets that are resilient because reliability is non-negotiable).
• Resilience and modernization as a long runway for multi-year investment.

The Big Market Backdrop: Why Utility Engineering Is Hot Right Now

Utility engineering is having a moment—and it’s not hype. Multiple pressures are stacking up at the same time:

1) Grid Modernization and Aging Infrastructure

Many parts of the U.S. grid are decades old. Utilities are investing in replacements, upgrades, and smarter systems that can detect issues faster, reroute power, and reduce outage time. These efforts demand planning, engineering, design, and strong program execution—services that firms like Leidos and ENTRUST provide.

2) Reliability and Resilience Against Extreme Weather

Stronger storms, heat waves, wildfires, and flooding risks are forcing utilities to prioritize resilience. That can include hardening lines, reinforcing substations, improving vegetation management strategies, adding redundancy, and upgrading protection systems. Engineering and asset integrity capabilities become mission-critical in these projects.

3) Load Growth From Electrification and Data Centers

Electrification trends, manufacturing growth, and the rapid expansion of data centers have pushed many regions to rethink capacity and interconnection timelines. Reuters also highlighted the role of grid expansion tied to electrification and data center demand as a tailwind for Leidos’ utility engineering growth.

4) Bigger, More Complex Project Pipelines

Utility projects today are not always simple rebuilds. They can involve advanced modeling, digital workflows, automation, cybersecurity considerations, regulatory constraints, and major stakeholder coordination. Firms that can deliver end-to-end support—design through execution, with strong data practices—often win larger, stickier contracts.

NorthStar 2030: How This Fits Leidos’ Longer-Term Strategy

Leidos framed secure energy infrastructure engineering and technology as a strategic focus under its NorthStar 2030 growth strategy. The company also pointed to a major modernization cycle, citing projections that U.S. utilities could invest about $1 trillion over the next decade to meet demand growth and strengthen the electrical grid.

Those kinds of numbers don’t mean every dollar flows to engineering firms. But they do signal a sustained investment environment where utilities must plan and execute significant programs year after year—exactly the kind of cycle where scale, talent depth, and broad service offerings can matter.

What ENTRUST Brings to the Table

ENTRUST describes itself as providing comprehensive engineering and related services “from start to finish,” including:

• Engineering and consulting for utility and industrial customers
• Design services across power delivery needs
• Asset integrity support (helping owners understand, maintain, and extend asset life)
• Data solutions to manage and improve infrastructure decisions
• Automation services that help systems run more efficiently

For Leidos, those capabilities can strengthen two critical dimensions: service breadth (more offerings across the value chain) and customer breadth (more types of utilities and operators). This can be especially valuable when utilities want fewer vendors and more integrated delivery.

Potential Benefits for Utility Customers

When acquisitions go well, customers can benefit. Here are practical ways this combination could help utility clients—based on what both companies say they do:

Broader End-to-End Support

Utilities often need help from planning and early design all the way through implementation and ongoing optimization. A larger combined team may be able to offer “one stop” support across multiple project phases.

Faster Mobilization on Large Programs

Major grid modernization efforts require rapid staffing. With a bigger bench of engineers and specialists, the combined organization could ramp teams faster across multiple states or regions.

More Specialized Expertise in One Place

Modern power systems need a mix of electrical engineering, protection, controls, automation, digital tooling, and data capabilities. Combining teams can allow deeper specialization while still supporting large-scale delivery.

Risks and Watchpoints: What Investors and Industry Observers Will Track

Even deals that look great on paper face real-world execution challenges. Here are key watchpoints that typically matter in engineering-service acquisitions—especially at this scale:

Integration and Culture

Engineering firms rely heavily on people—skills, institutional knowledge, and customer relationships. Successful integration must retain key talent and align operating models without slowing delivery.

Financing and Interest Rate Sensitivity

Leidos expects to fund the purchase with debt and other financing tools. Market conditions and interest rates can affect the long-term cost of capital, which investors often monitor closely.

Regulatory Approval Timing

The deal is expected to close by the end of Q2 2026, subject to approvals and customary conditions. Even routine processes can create timing uncertainty.

Delivering on Accretion Targets

Leidos expects the acquisition to be accretive to revenue growth and EBITDA margin immediately, and to non-GAAP EPS in 2027. Delivering on those targets depends on integration efficiency, project execution, and market conditions.

Conference Call and Where to Learn More

Leidos said it plans to discuss the transaction in a conference call scheduled for the morning of Jan. 26, 2026, with webcast and replay availability through its investor relations channels. For official updates and materials, readers can follow the company’s investor relations site here: Leidos Investor Relations.

Company Profiles

About Leidos

Leidos is headquartered in Reston, Virginia and serves government and commercial customers with a focus on technology, engineering, and mission-related innovation. The company reported approximately $16.7 billion in annual revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 3, 2025, and has about 47,000 employees globally.

About ENTRUST Solutions Group

ENTRUST Solutions Group has more than 3,100 professionals across 40+ locations in North America and provides engineering, consulting, design, asset integrity, data solutions, and automation services to utility, operator, and industrial customers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) How much is Leidos paying to acquire ENTRUST?

Leidos said it has agreed to acquire ENTRUST Solutions Group for approximately $2.4 billion in an all-cash transaction.

2) Who is selling ENTRUST to Leidos?

Leidos said it will acquire ENTRUST Solutions Group from Kohlberg (a private equity firm).

3) When is the deal expected to close?

The companies expect the deal to close by the end of the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

4) What does Leidos gain from buying ENTRUST?

Leidos expects ENTRUST to add capabilities, expand its utility customer base, and effectively double the size of its energy infrastructure engineering business—while also extending into utility gas and electric generation infrastructure markets.

5) How will Leidos finance the acquisition?

Leidos expects to fund the all-cash transaction through a combination of new debt, cash on hand, and commercial paper.

6) Will the acquisition increase earnings?

Leidos expects the deal to be immediately accretive to revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin, and accretive to non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in 2027.

Conclusion: A High-Stakes Bet on the Future of Energy Infrastructure

Leidos’ planned acquisition of ENTRUST is more than a typical services expansion—it’s a clear signal that the company sees utility engineering as a durable growth engine in the years ahead. With grid modernization, resilience investments, and rising demand reshaping utility priorities, scale and capability breadth can be decisive advantages.

If the companies execute integration smoothly and retain key talent, the combined platform could become one of the most influential engineering solutions providers in the U.S. utility market—helping shape how the nation upgrades the systems that power homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure.

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