Kea & Partners close to acquiring French change consultancy Arkos

French management consulting firm Kea & Partners is on the verge of acquiring Arkos, a boutique French consultancy specialised in successfully embedding change in organisations. 

The planned acquisition aligns with the firm’s plan to double its revenues globally to €100 million and workforce to 400 consultants and staff by 2025. Known internally as ‘Darewin’, the strategy builds on a fundament of strong growth – according to the firm’s own claims, Kea & Partners has grown its revenues by nearly 50% over the past six years. 

That growth has however primarily been achieved organically, with the consultancy now eyeing an acquisition to accelerate. Founded in 1984 by Corinne Patarin, Arkos is a 20-strong consulting firm based in the eastern suburbs of Paris. The firm supports its clients with organisational transformation and change management. 

According to founder and chief executive Patarin, the firm has since inception supported more than 500,000 people with embracing change, from senior executives to operators, across a host of sectors. Some of the clients Arkos has served include Dior, EDF, Orange, Philips, Google, Printemps, Sodexo and Suez.

Kea & Partners and Arkos have entered exclusive discussions. “This move will strengthen our positioning as a consulting group able to support management on all the issues that determine the future of their company, from the design of transformations to the implementation and change,” said Kea & Partners in a press release.

Led by CEO Arnaud Gangloff, Kea & Partners has around 200 consultants working from offices in France (Paris, Lyon), Morocco (Casablanca) and Brazil (São Paulo). The group is part of the Transformation Alliance, an alliance between Kea & Partners and peers h&z Management Consulting (German-origin), MBS Consulting (Italian-origin), Cordial (Swedish-origin) and Q5 (UK-origin). Combined, the alliance has 500+ consultants in 20+ countries. 

The bolt-on of Arkos will add an estimated €2.1 million in revenues to Kea & Partners’ coffers. Meanwhile, for Arkos, the move will expand the firm’s capabilities, enable access to an international client base, and expand career opportunities for consultants, said Patarin.