Deloitte and Roland Berger in merger talks

Global consulting and accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants are discussing a possible merger. In a conference call yesterday, Deloitte Germany Chief Executive Martin Plendl told the press that the two companies would make a decision by mid-December, which is when both companies’ shareholders meet to decide on the deal.

Deloitte’s takeover is expected to create a global strategy consulting arm that would earn about $2.8 billion in revenue each year, explained Plendl. The merger will combine Deloitte’s operations, strategy and company restructuring consulting divisions with Roland Berger, and the merged company will be called Roland Berger Deloitte Strategy Consulting.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is based in New York and has about 170,000 employees globally. Its services include tax, audit, consulting and financial advisory. In 2010, Deloitte's global revenue totalled $26.6 billion.

Roland Berger was founded in 1967 as a consulting firm specializing in marketing consulting. Today, it is a versatile consultancy well known for its business and management research and studies. Last year, the company employed about 2,000 people in 27 countries and made 616 million euros in sales.

“A merger opens up a unique opportunity for growth for both firms,” said Plendl. Roland Berger confirmed that discussions were underway in a statement saying, “Discussions with Deloitte are taking place to open new and fascinating growth prospects for our company.”