BrazilBIP expands US presence with acquisition of Monticello Consulting
Italian origin professional services firm BIP has added Monticello Consulting to its ranks, in a deal that strengthen its US presence. The move will take its American workforce to more than 150 experts, with a further 50 planned to be recruited by the end of the year.
BIP is a consulting firm that provides a wide range of business and digital transformation services to clients across sectors. In recent years, the firm has been committing to a sustained expansion drive, and the company now employs over 4,000 consultants and staff worldwide.
The consulting company has been active in the US since 2015, and has now significantly boosted its presence stateside with the Monticello Consulting.
BIP’s purchase of Monticello will take its headcount in the US to over 150 professionals, strengthening the ability of the consulting multinational to serve large organisations in the region and to support their digital growth.
Carlo Capè, the CEO of BIP, commented, “The choice of a partner like Monticello allows BIP to take a big step in its globalisation strategy, strengthening the positioning of BIP as an Italian firm operating in the US and in the world.”
The deal comes months after BIP roped in growth capital from CVC Capital Partners and two years after its latest deals – the acquisitions of UK firm Chaucer Consulting (which already had a small presence in the US) and Italy-based Vidiemme.
The combined US practice will be led by Will Morgan, the founder of Monticello Consulting, together with Andrea Airaghi, Managing Partner M&A of BIP, and Giorgio Gristina, Managing Partner of BIP in the US.
Morgan founded Monticello Consulting in 2004 having previously served Accenture and m.a.partners, a boutique financial services consulting firm in New York. Monticello Consulting specialises in management consulting services to the financial services industry.
“Working alongside our amazing colleagues at BIP, Monticello’s consultants and our business platform will be positioned to scale quickly and compete immediately for new business, new clients, and new types of projects, further solidifying our market leading position in banking, capital markets, and financial services advisory.”
The joining of forces will enable Monticello Consulting to both deepen and broaden its services, said Morgan, which will allow the firm’s longstanding clients in the New York and London “to benefit tremendously from our new expanded capabilities.”
Deal advisors
The deal was advised by several M&A experts. Equiteq acted as exclusive financial advisor to Monticello. Led by Managing Director Daniel Siller, Equiteq’s team also included Vice President Ravi Dosanjh and Analyst Christopher Saunderson.
Speaking on their efforts, Morgan said, “We chose Equiteq as our advisor due to their proven track record of successful M&A deal-making for services businesses in general and financial institutions in particular… We are exceptionally pleased with the outcome of the process and excited about the amazing prospects for the combined business.”
At the other side of the table, BIP received financial advisory support from Equita Sim. The firm’s team was led by Deputy Head of Investment Banking Simone Riviera, and composed of Director Giulio Godi; and Analyst Leone Laboni.
Due diligence was provided by PwC, delivered by professionals in Milan and Dallas including Deals Partner Giuseppe Rana; Senior Manager Joseph Gehring; Manager Gabriella Melacca; Accociate Luigi Farago; M&A Tax Partner Nicola Broggi; and M&A Tax Director Alessandro Campione checking the financial, tax, and accounting aspects of the deal.
Legal aspects of the buy-side were assisted by Cozen O 'Connor, with a team led by Partner Christian Moretti and Senior Associate Beatrice Bottini, weighing up legal due diligence and the drafting of all the documents of the transaction. Lodovico Bianchi Di Giulio. Lisa Hedrick and Sarah Mikowski, members of US law firm Hirschler, provided legal counsel to Monticello.
