Sia Partners acquires Seattle-based management consultancy Loft9
Paris-based management and technology consulting firm has acquired Seattle-based Loft9, strengthening its tech-driven consulting platform. The move is a part of a strategy to breach a headcount of 500 consultants in the US by the end of 2020.
Founded in Paris in 1999, Sia Partners broke into the US consulting scene in 2012 with the acquisition of the New York branch of OTC Conseil Group. The firm followed that with the opening of its first Canadian office in Montreal in 2014. In 2015, Sia Partners unveiled a Charlotte, NC location, and then gained a Houston outpost in 2016 with the acquisition of consulting firm Molten Group.
Overall, the company has more than 1,400 consultants spread across offices in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, and has annual revenues of $280 million. The firm differentiates itself with a “Consulting 4.0” approach that marries management consulting skills with innovative artificial intelligence techniques.
Sia has now added offices in Seattle and Denver with the acquisition of management consultancy Loft9, giving it a total of five locations in the US. The addition of Loft9’s 70 consultants will push Sia’s US workforce above 200 people, while the acquired firm’s office in the tech hotspot of Seattle will become Sia’s fourth largest office.
Loft9 provides consulting services ranging from business analysis and change management to process improvement and project management, serving clients in tech, utilities, healthcare, and aviation. The company had revenues of $13 million in 2018 and, combined with the revenues of Sia Partners’ US operations, now reaches a total of $38 million in 2018 on a pro-forma basis.
Loft9’s managing partners – Mark Birzell, Ed Beals, and Ronan Walsh – will join Sia’s US management team led by Dan Connor, Sia Partners US CEO.
“Loft9’s talented managing partners have built a strong West Coast firm that delivers outstanding outcomes for its clients,” Connor commented. “We are excited to partner with Mark, Ed and Ronan as we continue to build a top ten domestic management consulting practice, and we look forward to working with the team at Loft9 to bring our cutting-edge innovation and AI techniques to even more clients across the U.S.”
With an ambitious strategy to surpass a headcount of 500 people at its US offices by the end of 2020, it’s likely that Sia will pursue other acquisitions in the short term, augmented by organic growth. The firm also has specific plans to double its presence in Seattle.
Commenting on his firm’s union with Sia, Mark Birzell related, “I am tremendously proud of everything we’ve built at Loft9, and I believe this will prove to be a winning combination for Loft9’s clients and employees. We will have competitive breadth and depth on the West Coast and leading-edge offerings for our clients across the country.”
