Consultancy firms: And now for the big guns
SA’s largest homegrown consultancy, bought by private equity firm Capitalworks, is taking aim at its foreign rivals
In a move that promises to shake up SA’s R6.5bn consulting industry, private equity firm Capitalworks has bought control of SA’s largest homegrown consultancy, IQ Business.With revenues of R500m/year, IQ Business now accounts for 7% of a sector dominated by US and UK-based giants — Deloitte, Accenture, McKinsey, PwC and Bain Consulting.Adam Craker, IQ Business CEO, says profits have grown by about 20%/year over the past five years, and the company now has a launch pad from which to challenge its foreign rivals."We feel strongly it’s time there’s a local alternative to US, European and Indian consulting firms," says Craker, a former executive at Dimension Data.Part of his plan is to buy other smaller services firms."There are lots of smaller players, the 50-person companies, that we’re looking at. But we’ll also consider acquisitions of other services companies — outsourcing or technology companies," he says.It’s an apposite time for a local player to launch its challenge.Some of the...
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