"We will be adopting the Balfour Beatty name once the deal isclosed," a corporate spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com. "We don'texpect anything about our structuring to change. Our headquarterswill remain in Dallas and our leadership team and organizationalstructuring will remain the same." Robert Van Cleave is chairmanand CEO of the construction operation, which dates back to 1933 andhas evolved through the years via acquisitions of family-ownedregional firms in the US.

The spokeswoman says Balfour approached Centex Corp., sparkingtalks in earnest and due diligence just a couple months ago. "Theywere shopping, got interested in us and luckily it was a win-winfor both," says the Centex vice president.

Centex Construction has 1,400 full-time employees in 14 offices.In fiscal year 2006, it generated $1.6 billion in revenue and is ontarget to hit $2 billion when FY 2007 closes out March 31.