Jacobs Engineering to Buy Unit of Dutch Firm

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., the sixth-largest U.S. construction and engineering company, agreed to buy the engineering unit of Stork of the Netherlands for an undisclosed price, to expand into northern Europe. Stork Engineering Group operates mainly in the northern European nations of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium as well as Southeast Asia. Pasadena-based Jacobs currently operates in southern Europe as well as North and South America, Britain, Ireland and India. Jacobs builds chemical plants and oil refineries. Stork Engineering, a unit of Dutch industrial-machinery components maker and services company Stork, had 1998 revenue of $310 million. The unit’s 3,000 employees will join the 16,000 engineering workers at Jacobs. Jacobs’ revenue for the year ended June 30 was $2.6 billion. Closing, subject to approvals, is expected by year’s end. Jacobs fell 88 cents to close at $33.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.