Wavestone and PEN Partnership join forces to become a leading UK player in transformation consultancy

After signing a conditional acquisition agreement in July 2022, Wavestone announces the acquisition of PEN Partnership, a UK-based consulting firm.

PEN Partnership: an independent business consulting firm specialising in Financial Services and Life Sciences

Founded in 2012, PEN Partnership has established itself as a trusted partner for its clients operating across the Financial Services and Life Sciences sectors. PEN Partnership serves some of the most reputable organizations within these industries across four core specialisms: Customer Experience & Digital, Operations & Automation, Data & Technology and Change Delivery & Capability. 

PEN Partnership is headquartered in London, with a headcount of circa 60 permanent employees and an additional circa 40 contractors.

Over the past 10 years, PEN Partnership has successfully grown and scaled the business to reach £19.6m revenue for its fiscal year ending in March 2022, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of circa 15%.

A boost in the UK development, aligned to Wavestone's Impact strategic plan

The project fits perfectly with Wavestone's strategic plan ‘Impact': to accelerate the firm's external growth in its target geographies.

The acquisition is a great opportunity to enrich Wavestone's value proposition in the UK. The addition of PEN Partnership's expertise in Financial Services and Life Sciences to Wavestone's technological capabilities will offer a first-class proposition to clients to help tackle their transformation challenges, across the two industries and the wider UK market.

Chris Gibson, PEN Partnership's CEO, comments: “Wavestone and PEN Partnership together make a powerful combination and this is really great news for our clients and staff. The two companies provide complementary services and share very similar corporate culture and values. Wavestone has an ambitious growth plan and I am very excited for the PEN team to play a key role in building a leading consultancy player in the UK market.”

Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director of Wavestone, says “This merger enhances Wavestone's ability to deliver global transformation programmes. With PEN Partnership, we can accelerate our growth in the UK and deepen our value proposition in Financial Services and Life Sciences globally. It's clear from our discussions with PEN Partnership that there are synergies not only in the services provided, but the company culture. There is strong alignment on topics such as CSR, Diversity & Inclusion, as well as Great Place to Work®, and this is a key success factor for our project.”

Terms of the operation

Wavestone has acquired 100% of the PEN Partnership's share capital.

The purchase price is £22.5m in enterprise value, plus an additional consideration of up to £7.5m conditioned by PEN Partnership's performance over the next 18 months.

The acquisition has been financed by Wavestone's own funds.

PEN Partnership will be integrated in Wavestone's accounts as of 1^st August 2022.

PEN Partnership's leadership team is expected to play a key role in the merged practice to be formed at the end of the integration period.

Next events: H1 2022/23 revenue: Thursday, October 27, 2022, after Euronext market closing.

About Wavestone

In a world where knowing how to drive transformation is the key to success, Wavestone's mission is to inform and guide large companies and organisations in their most critical transformations, with the ambition of a positive outcome for all stakeholders. It's an ambition anchored in the firm's DNA and embodied in the signature “The Positive Way.”

Wavestone draws on about 4,000 employees across Europe – where it is a leading independent player in consulting, the United States and Asia.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext Paris and recognised as a Great Place to Work^®.

Source Actusnews