FTI Consulting enters Dutch market with acquisition of BOLD

Global management consulting firm FTI Consulting has entered the Dutch market with the acquisition of BOLD, a consulting firm with about 30 consultants.

With more than 6,600 employees in some 30 countries (and a revenue of $2.5 billion), FTI Consulting is one of the globe’s largest consulting firms. Now, nearly forty years after its inception (FTI Consulting was founded in 1982 in the US), the listed consultancy group has established its first presence in the Netherlands.

“We are so pleased to attract a powerful team with a great reputation in the Netherlands, a geography where we have not historically had a presence. This will enable us to even better serve our clients in the Netherlands and region with their most critical challenges and opportunities,” said Steven Gunby, Chief Executive Officer of FTI Consulting.

BOLD is a Dutch consulting firm that helps its clients with four offerings: restructuring, transactions, transformation advisory, and digital transformation. Established in 2013, the firm has rapidly established a reputation in the marketplace, growing strongly during the pandemic, bringing in high-profile recruits (many of which have a background at tier-one rivals), and completing several notable engagements with clients.

“The combination of our teams will enable us to better serve Dutch companies with operations in international markets, as well as multinational organisations with interests in the Netherlands,” said Diederick van der Plas, Head of FTI Consulting’s Corporate Finance & Restructuring division for the EMEA region.

The integration will see all of BOLD’s team, including two senior managing directors and eight managing directors, join the Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment at FTI Consulting. Closing of the deal is expected in the first quarter of 2022.

Commenting on the transaction, Klaas Wagenaar (who founded the firma with Gerrit van Munster) said: “FTI Consulting is the ideal partner for us. This combination will allow us to harness the expertise and coverage of an international player that shares our entrepreneurial approach to provide a more hands-on service provider for clients in the Netherlands.”

“We are proud of what we have built, and we look forward to the next chapter of our journey with FTI Consulting!”

Van Munster added: “There is no doubt that there is a strong business rationale for joining forces. More important for us however is the perfect match in terms of the DNA of our teams.”

“BOLD is known for making a difference for clients with a strong hands-on approach combined with an entrepreneurial spirit. FTI Consulting is a much larger consultancy firm, but has always had the same ‘can do mentality’ running through its DNA. During our conversations with FTI Consulting, we experienced many similarities in our culture that gave us confidence that we are a good match.”

For FTI Consulting, BOLD is the second deal in 2021, following the acquisition of The Rhodes Group in the US. In the two years previous, the firm acquired Delta Partners in the Middle East and Andersch in Germany.