Jacobs Engineering Group has acquired the architecture firm KlingStubbins, a move that boosts the parent company’s design capabilities and adds 500 U.S. and Asia-based employees.

KlingStubbins, based in Philadelphia, ranked number 31 on Architectural Record’s 2011 list of the Top 250 architecture firms in the United States. In 2010, the company earned $98 million in design revenue.

“We are acquiring a solid business with a history of good performance,” said Jacobs President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Martin, in a statement released on November 2. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In the same statement, Michael Lorenz, KlingStubbins’ national managing principal, said the deal gives his company “access to a much wider global resource base that enables us to enhance our design services for clients, as well as provide more opportunities for our employees.”

Avram Fisher, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, called the deal “a small, bolt-on acquisition” for Jacobs. He adds that buying KlingStubbins enables Jacobs, “which is at heart an engineering services firm,” to better compete with multi-service companies such as Stantec and AECOM.