Companies
M&A / acquisition
Willdan to Buy Mantis Innovation for $285 Million in Cash
Willdan Group is buying the Houston-based energy-services firm for $285 million in cash, funded mostly by a new $250 million term loan, with closing expected in the fourth quarter.
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Dow Jones Newswires (full text read via TradingView, Sept. 22, 2026) reports Willdan Group is acquiring Mantis Innovation for $285 million in cash; Mantis is a Houston-based company with more than 220 employees specializing in building controls, energy efficiency, energy advisory, and facility management; the deal expands Willdan's commercial presence in data centers, food and beverage, and healthcare; funding is a new $250 million term loan plus cash on hand and existing credit facilities; closing is subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance and expected in the fourth quarter. The $250M/$285M ratio (about 88%) is arithmetic on the two disclosed figures; the split of the remaining funding between cash on hand and existing credit facilities is undisclosed.
Reported Tuesday, September 22, 2026; expected close fourth quarter 2026.
Willdan Group is acquiring Mantis Innovation, a Houston-based energy-services company, for $285 million in cash — a debt-funded deal that expands its commercial presence in data centers, food and beverage, and healthcare.
Mantis brings more than 220 employees and specializes in building controls, energy efficiency, energy advisory, and facility management solutions, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The Houston-based company expands Willdan's commercial market presence in data centers, food and beverage, and healthcare.
At a glance: $285 million in cash for Mantis Innovation; more than 220 employees; services spanning building controls, energy efficiency, energy advisory, and facility management; funding via a new $250 million term loan plus cash on hand and existing credit facilities; closing expected in the fourth quarter, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance.
The funding leans heavily on debt. Willdan plans to fund the transaction using a new $250 million term loan facility alongside cash on hand and existing credit facilities — the term loan alone is about 88% of the $285 million price tag, with the rest from cash on hand and existing credit facilities in undisclosed proportions.
The commercial angle is explicit in the report. Mantis expands Willdan's commercial market presence in data centers, food and beverage, and healthcare, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The financing is worth watching into closing. The plan pairs a $250 million term loan with cash on hand and existing credit facilities, and the report does not say how much comes from each of the latter two. Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance is the closing condition named in the report, with closing expected in the fourth quarter.
The Dow Jones report was published Tuesday evening, after the market close. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance.
A company buying another company, in plain English
Willdan Group is the buyer. Mantis Innovation is the company being bought — a Houston-based firm whose work spans building controls, energy efficiency, energy advisory, and facility management for commercial customers. An acquisition means Willdan is buying Mantis Innovation for $285 million in cash. Mantis's owners get cash, not Willdan stock. The deal is subject to a U.S. antitrust review called Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance — a waiting period during which regulators can examine the transaction before it closes. A term loan is borrowed money with a set repayment schedule. Here Willdan is borrowing $250 million of the $285 million price — so the deal is being bought mostly with debt, not with cash Willdan already had.
The leverage behind Willdan's debt-funded commercial bet
The structure is simple: $285 million in cash for Mantis Innovation, funded with a new $250 million term loan — the term facility alone is about 88% of the price, with the rest from cash on hand and existing credit facilities in undisclosed proportions. The commercial angle is explicit in the report: Mantis expands Willdan's commercial presence in data centers, food and beverage, and healthcare. Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance is the closing condition named in the Dow Jones report, with closing expected in the fourth quarter. The brief report does not detail other potential closing conditions; the financing split beyond the term loan is the open number into closing.
Not yet known
HSR waiting-period outcome; exact close date; Mantis's realized earnings contribution; realized leverage and interest burden.
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Sources & evidence
Sources used for this piece.
Dow Jones Newswires (via TradingView)
News by Dow Jones Newswires on TradingView, 2026-09-22 — DJN_DN20260922008203:0
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