The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Atkinsrealis is on solid enough financial footing to resume acquisitions, its chief executive officer said Tuesday, after the company announced it had made a $300-million (U.S.) deal to expand its footprint in the western United States. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that after markets closed, the company formerly known as SNC-Lavalin said it would acquire a 70-per-cent stake in David Evans Enterprises, a Portland, Ore., company specializing in transportation. Atkinsrealis may acquire the remaining 30-per-cent stake "within a defined agreed time period," the company said in a news release. The deal marks the first "significant acquisition" for the company since SNC purchased Atkins in 2017. "We're very excited to be able to come back to [mergers and acquisitions]," said Atkinsrealis chief executive officer Ian Edwards. "It's taken us a while to strengthen the balance sheet, but we're here now, we'll be like a normalized company in terms of investing back into the business." As of September, the company had a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.4 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Atkinsrealis changed its name in 2023.