Jacobs has been looking for new projects in the oil and gas and chemicals sectors and has historically turned to acquisitions to expand its market presence. It has bought six other companies in the last three years.

The two consultants today revealed they have signed an agreement recommended by the SKM board to merge their two businesses.

The deal to buy SKM, which employs 6,500 people from more than 40 offices worldwide, is subject to shareholder approval.

Jacobs is around 10 times bigger employing 65,000 staff working in over 25 countries around the world from 200 offices.

SKM’s CEO and Managing Director, Santo Rizzuto, said: “This is an exciting opportunity. It uniquely positions us amongst our global peers and opens the way for us to achieve even greater things in the future.

“It adds scale, diversification and growth opportunities to our business.

Jacobs’ President, and CEO, Craig Martin, said: “Our capabilities and geographies have little overlap, enabling us together to continue to expand our client relationships and provide significant opportunities for our employees. We are enthusiastic about the potential.”