BrazilKPMG France bolsters consulting arm with Carewan and MAPP acquisitions
KPMG France has acquired two consulting firms in recent months, adding over 100 consultants to its Advisory division. HR consultancy Carewan will be integrated into the KPMG Advisory’s People & Change division and operate as ‘Carewan by KPMG’, while competition economics consultancy MAPP will operate under the umbrella of KPMG Deal Advisory.
With 9,000 professionals, KPMG France is one of KPMG’s largest member organisations in Europe. The country firm in recent months expanded its management consulting expertise through two acquisitions, that of MAPP in February and of Carewan last month. Combined, the two bolt-ons added 100+ consultants to KPMG Advisory, consolidating its position in a French consulting industry which is estimated to be worth over €6 billion.
Carewan | People & Change
Commenting on the Carewan deal, Jean-David Aurange, head of the People & Change practice for KPMG in France, said, “Combining our experience allows us to offer a unique value proposition to our clients, supported by innovative methods in areas such as organisational agility, collective change dynamics and people engagement.” Jay Nirsimloo, CEO of KPMG in France, and Nicolas Richard, head of Consulting for KPMG in France, both highlighted how the deal not just accelerates its growth in the consulting space, but also demonstrates the firm’s fundamental belief that people are the drivers of successful transformations.
Carewan was founded in 2003 and over the past 15 years has become a leading company for talent and leadership development, culture, organisation design, as well as change management. The firm, which is headquartered in Paris and has further offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, has a team of 80 professionals, including advisors, facilitators, trainers, consultants, designers and coaches.
The founders of Carewan will join KPMG as partners in the People & Change practice, however, they will remain responsible for operations and client execution. Céline Lerenard, co-founder and General Manager of Carewan, stated that by joining KPMG we will be able to offer our clients an integrated value proposition – comprising strategy, governance, organisation and competencies, supported by systems and technology.”
The deal comes three years after KPMG Advisory picked up another specialised change management consultancy. In 2015, the Dutch arm of KPMG purchased Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, a firm founded by Fons Trompenaars, a Dutch-French organisational theorist and author most known for the development of Trompenaars' model of national culture differences. Meanwhile in France, rival PwC acquired IDRH at the end of 2016, in its endeavour to grow its human capital consulting practice.
MAPP | Economics Consulting
Two months prior, KPMG France bought MAPP, one of France's leading providers of economic consulting and competition economics. The firm specialises in economic analysis of markets and the competitive strategies of businesses, and the range of analytical techniques conducted in the context of proceedings before competition authorities and courts, in particular the European Commission, the French Competition Authority and courts of appeals in various jurisdictions. In recent years – MAPP was founded in 2007 – the firm’s activities have expanded to include the assessment in civil litigation cases brought before commercial courts or arbitration tribunals.
“This acquisition is a major boost to our M&A support services. Thanks to MAPP's expertise, we can offer clients a clear and pertinent analysis of the strategic challenges they face in terms of competition,” said Axel Rebaudières, Head of Deal Advisory Operations at KPMG France.
MAPP also has teams in the UK and Spain, with Nicola Mazzarotto, KPMG's Global Head of Economics (who is based in London) adding, “By adding MAPP's capabilities to KPMG's existing economics teams in the UK and Spain, and broader network of economists, we're positioning KPMG as one of Europe's leading economics consulting firms and one with real differentiation in terms of its offering in M&A, lnvestigations, and strategy work.”
According to the three partners of MAPP – Anne Perrot, David Spector and Laurent Eymard – joining KPMG will allow the firm to take its development 'to the next level'. “The strength and reputation of KPMG will help to make us a major force at European level, providing invaluable services to our clients. The combination of KPMG's financial analysis capacities and our expertise in micro-economic and econometric analysis will also lead to innovative new opportunities in terms of damage assessments. We're very excited about the new horizons opened up by this deal.”
Last week, French operations consultancy Argon Consulting merged with UK's Crimson & Co.
