CB&I Goes All-In on Big Energy With $3B Shaw Deal (Update 1)

CB&I said it will finance the acquisition using cash on the balance sheets of both companies, along with roughly $1.9 billion in debt financing from Bank of America and Credit Agricole. Following the closing of the deal, CB&I said that Shaw Group Chairman and CEO J.M Bernhard Jr. will "pursue new business and public service interests."

Monday's merger comes amid a rebound in industrial M&A as some industrhy players try to scale their operations globally and into new products. In May, engineering giant Eaton (ETN) said it will buy electrical equipment supplier Cooper Industries (CBE) for $11.8 billion, making the industrial merger the largest U.S. acquisition of 2012, and bolstering expectations for additional M&A in the sector.

A near $4 billion acquisition of Thomas & Betts (TNB) by European giant ABB(ABB) in January signaled that after a post-crisis focus on bolstering capital, bets on a cyclical upturn in industrial spending could spark more deals.

-- Written by Antoine Gara in New York