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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2a841f0e-f2a5-11df-8020-00144feab49a.html#axzz15dmU0bZwDeloitte in Roland Berger talks
By Adam Jones in London
Published: November 18 2010 00:00 | Last updated: November 18 2010 00:00
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is in advanced talks to absorb Roland Berger Strategy Consultants as part of its effort to overtake McKinsey as the market leader in strategic advice for managers.
The discussions to merge the German firm with Deloitte’s strategic consulting practice give further momentum to consolidation activity within the broader consulting sector this year.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HSBC hires Deloitte to review laundering compliance - Nov-14.Strachan to leave FSA for Deloitte - Nov-08..They follow on from Aon’s $4.9bn acquisition of Hewitt Associates, a deal that bolstered its human resources consulting arm, and merger talks between Booz & Co and AT Kearney that ended without success in the summer.
The new firm would be called Roland Berger Deloitte Strategy Consultants. Martin Wittig, Roland Berger’s chief executive, would be the new entity’s CEO, according to a person familiar with the talks.
Jeff Watts, Deloitte’s global strategy and operations leader, would be deputy chief executive, the person said.
Deloitte confirmed on Wednesday night that discussions about the deal were at an advanced stage.
“We have an exciting ambition to create a market-leading strategy consultancy within Deloitte’s consulting division. We are currently engaged in approval processes on both sides and hope to complete this transaction by the end of the year,” the company said.
Roland Berger confirmed that it was in talks with Deloitte about opening “new and fascinating growth prospects” for the firm. “The strategy consulting market is moving and all players hold regular discussions with competitors and other organisations,” it said.
However, it injected a note of caution ahead of a meeting of its 200 partners next month. “As a true partnership, we will explore all matters of importance first and thoroughly among the partner group. Our upcoming international partner meeting in December will provide the right platform to do so,” it said.
Deloitte is organised as a global network of individual firms that mainly cover just one country each. It is thought that a merger would involve Roland Berger partners becoming partners in the relevant national Deloitte organisation, but details about how that would be achieved had not emerged on Wednesday night. Founded in 1967, Roland Berger is present in more than two dozen countries and had revenues of €616m in 2009.
Deloitte, meanwhile, had consulting revenues of $7.5bn in the year ended May 31, 2010, compared with the $11.7bn it took in from the auditing activities that have been the traditional heart of the organisation. The addition of tax and financial advisory work meant Deloitte’s overall revenues were $26.6bn.
A person with knowledge of the talks said Roland Berger’s presence in Germany, other European markets and Asia would be complementary to Deloitte’s geographical footprint.
Deloitte bought the bulk of the North American public services consulting arm of BearingPoint for $350m last year.
