Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Booz & Co. and A.T. Kearney end merger discussions

Management consulting giants Booz & Co. and A.T. Kearney have called off discussions about a possible merger, the companies announced today. In a joint statement, they said, "Booz & Co. and A.T. Kearney confirm that they have ended discussions about a possible merger of their two partnerships. While the two firms greatly respect each other's legacy and capabilities, they have determined that their future aspirations will be best realized as separate partnerships."

The two consulting firms have considered a merger several times over the last few years, writes The Wall Street Journal, but never completed a deal. Booz CEO Shumeet Banerji reportedly met with partners in several countries recently to discuss a possible merger, but the partners did not see the two companies as a good fit. Previous merger talks between Booz and A.T. Kearney fell apart for similar reasons, according to insiders.

Booz & Co. was created when Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. split its government business from its corporate consulting arm two years ago. The government consulting unit kept the original name after it was sold to Carlyle Group for $2.54 billion. Booz was originally founded in 1914 by Edwin Booz as Booz Allen & Hamilton, a management consulting firm.

A.T. Kearney was bought back by its partners from Electronic Data Systems in 2006. The company was founded in 1926 as a branch of McKinsey & Company. In 2009, Consulting Mag ranked A.T. Kearney number 11 "best place to work for." The company is now a private partnership.

1 comment:

  1. It is unfortunate that the companies are no longer talking about the merger since it could have made many job opportunities for individuals looking to get into management consulting. I found that the best way to find employees is test their emotional intelligence through programs provided by the HayGroup. The programs provide employees with ways to understand how their strengths and weaknesses can be used on projects and in a team setting.

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