There are not many cases when you see neck-to-neck competitors become one. But it happened as EquaTerra took over Europe’s Morgan Chambers last week. The deal has not only given EquaTerra a ready foothold in Europe, it will also add to its BPO abilities and 13 years’ IT Outsourcing (ITO) advisory experience which Morgan Chambers is known for.
Till the time it becomes officially known as EquaTerra, for an unspecified period of time London-based Morgan Chambers will be referred to as “Morgan Chambers, an EquaTerra company.” Following this deal, Robert Morgan — the founder of European firm Morgan Chambers will leave the company.
The financial investment involved in the takeover has not yet been made public. However, Mark Toon, Chief Executive, EquaTerra said, “We have acquired 100 percent stakes of Morgan Chambers.”
EquaTerra provides advisory services to our clients operating in verticals like energy, pharma etc. and in processes like HR, finance and accounting (F&A), procurement and supply chain. And now that it becomes a 300-people strong company, the acquisition also combines EquaTerra’s expertise in vertical-specific sourcing advisory services with that of Morgan Chambers’ that excels in region-specific sourcing advisory across Continental Europe.
“But with the acquisition, we will strengthen our IT as well,” explained Toon on acquiring a company that had 13 years of experience in the ITO advisory.
Post acquisition, the total employee strength of EquaTerra becomes 300. Both companies saw a cultural affinity in the way they operate in spite of their geographical difference. This together with the charm of expanding across geographies was enough for both the companies to go ahead with this deal. “While EquaTerra has a presence in Europe via an office in London, the acquisition of Morgan Chambers gives the company a broader reach into Europe and Asia through Morgan Chambers' offices in seven regions,” said Phil Morris, Head, Morgan Chambers Europe.
Interestingly this hunky-dory situation also has some reminiscences from history. Not very far in history, in year 2005, EquaTerra announced a merger with TPI under a new name Veritage. However, the deal never materialized and fell apart in 2006. Back then, the industry analysts speculated that the de-merger would pave the way for other sourcing advisors to merge with either company and the possible contenders were Gartner and Everest.
So with this new deal in place, it only remains to be seen how the two top guns can leverage the combined to make some mighty impact with their services.
