BrazilWavestone beefs up British division with double acquisition
Wavestone has given its British division a major boost with two acquisitions. The purchase of Coeus Consulting hot on the heels of PEN Partnership saw the firm add around 150 consultants to its team.
Last week, Wavestone announced it has acquired Coeus Consulting, a consultancy firm specialised in CIO advisory, sourcing, and the delivery of complex IT programmes. Around 50 consultants in London (and a small team in Germany) crossed to Wavestone. Coeus Consulting is mainly active in the energy, utilities, manufacturing and retail sectors.
Wavestone is purchasing Coeus Consulting for £17.5 million, financed by the firm’s own funds. The total consideration could grow to £21 million if Coeus Consulting hits a number of financial targets.
The deal came one month after the purchase of PEN Partnership, which added circa 100 consultants to Wavestone. PEN Partnership is a management consultancy firm focusing on the delivery of transformations in customer experience, operational excellence and change management. The firm works across many sectors, and is particularly active in the financial services and life science industries.
According to Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director of Wavestone, the double deal is part of Wavestone’s ambition to “build a leading player in the UK consulting market.”
“The merger of the three teams immediately and significantly widens the playing field of Wavestone in the United Kingdom and creates new development opportunities,” said Maghsoudnia.
Originally founded as Solucom, Wavestone entered the UK market in 2015 when the firm purchased Hudson & Yorke. Since then, Wavestone’s British division added parts of Kurt Salmon’s business (other parts were bought by Accenture) and bolted-on Xceed Group. With the latest two acquisitions, the British practice is now the firm’s second largest behind its French wing in home market France.
Globally, Wavestone has 15 offices in 9 countries. The Paris-listed group is led by CEO Pascal Imbert.
