BrazilSwedish consulting firm Capacent buys RGP in the Nordics
Scandinavian consulting firm Capacent has acquired the Nordic business of RGP, in a move that bolsters the firm’s consulting and interim business.
Established initially in 1983 as in-house consultancy arm of Swedish multinational group ABB, Capacent has been operating under its current brand since 2008. The consulting firm offers a wide range of management consulting services, ranging from business transformation and finance to operations and human capital.
The acquisition of RGP’s Nordic business is according to Edvard Björkenheim, the firm’s chief executive, part of the firm’s strategy to reach a turnover of 500 MSEK (around ($51 million) by 2022. From a services perspective, RGP’s expertise will significantly broaden the firm’s consulting portfolio, as well as deepening it – “especially within the finance domain.”
Björkenheim: “RGP has vast experience from finance transformations and expertise within robotics process automation, which will be useful in many of Capacent’s offerings. This means a new business with a stronger offering, wider abilities and a larger team.”
The bolt-on will also accelerate the ramp-up of Capacify, Capacent’s recently launched interim division. “Capacify will grow significantly with new clients, contracts and access to a large associated consultant network. Through this merger we will quickly become a large player in the interim market,” explained Björkenheim in a press statement.
Alongside management consulting and interim placements, Capacent further has an executive search and headhunting wing, operating under the Capasearch banner.
The all-cash deal sees all of RGP’s employees, assets, liabilities, contracts, and local client relationships in Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark transfer. The addition grows Capacent’s headcount to over 150 consultants and staff. It marks the firm’s fourth acquisition in the past decade – the consultancy previously purchased Oceam Associates, Resight, UnitedLog Consulting and KW Partners.
Capacent has five offices across the Nordics: Stockholm (headquarters), Helsinki, Reykjavik, Gothenburg and Malmö. Seller RGP is much larger. The global consulting firm has around 3,800 professionals across 70 global offices, serving 2,400 clients in a wide range of sectors.
“We are pleased to transfer our local Nordic operations to Capacent, a well-regarded player in the Nordic market and we are confident they will continue to provide value to our former clients and create opportunity for our former employees,” said Tim Brackney, chief operating officer of RGP. The US-headquartered company will continue to serve its strategic Nordic clients from its other hubs in Europe, said Brackney, with offices based in the UK and Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland.
The deal formally closes today, with both teams attending a town hall meeting in Stockholm to kick start the joining of forces.
Meanwhile, in the US, RGP itself closed a deal last month with the acquisition of digital transformation firm Veracity Consulting Group.
