Oliver Wyman, a Marsh McLennan business, is acquiring Booz Allen Hamilton's management consulting and cybersecurity business serving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The deal comes as Booz Allen continues to pursue cybersecurity acquisitions in the United States. Financial terms of the Oliver Wyman-Booz Allen deal were not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 328 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2022.
Management Consulting and Cybersecurity Acquisition: Deal Details
In this deal, the acquired assets will tuck into Oliver Wyman's India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) practice. Oliver Wyman's overall business offers strategy, operations, risk management, and organizational transformation services.
Booz Allen Executive VP and MENA Managing Director Souheil Moukaddem will join Oliver Wyman's Management Leadership Council, led by Pedro Oliveira. Describing the deal, Moukaddem said:
"Oliver Wyman is a global management consulting leader that will be a great home for our people, capabilities and clients. Bringing together our shared vision for the Middle East, cultures of entrepreneurship, inclusivity and diversity, and leading strategy consulting capabilities will deliver tremendous value as we enter a new era together.
Meanwhile, Booz Allen will continue to serve U.S. government clients requiring support within the MENA region, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the firm said. Moreover, Booz Allen will continue to provide proprietary cyber, defense, and security solutions and related support to clients in the MENA region, the firm added.
Oliver Wyman Acquires Booz Allen MENA Business: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the deal, Pedro Oliveira, managing partner of Oliver Wyman IMEA, said:
"With Oliver Wyman's unwavering commitment to breakthrough impact, we've long admired Booz Allen Hamilton's shared ethos of client excellence and deep sector expertise of the highest standards. Indeed, Oliver Wyman and Booz Allen already share a long history, with two former Booz Allen Hamilton partners having founded Oliver Wyman, and we are deeply pleased this culture of entrepreneurship and DNA of deep-seated values endures some four decades later. We are confident this move to come together will offer exponential value to our clients, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Oliver Wyman team."
Added Nick Studer, president and CEO of Oliver Wyman:
"The Middle East is one of the most aspirational, ambitious and exciting markets we support. To help service this trajectory, we are deeply pleased to be investing in and bringing aboard talent of this caliber that will enable us to have even greater impact and exceed client expectations. Booz Allen's experience and expertise will help propel both our firm's strategic direction but most importantly the path of the clients we serve in this rapidly evolving and dynamic market."
Noted Karen Dahut, Booz Allen's global defense sector president:
"This is a tremendous opportunity for our MENA-based management consulting business and talented workforce to grow in new ways. Booz Allen has a proud, long-standing management consulting legacy in the MENA region and has become a true transformation leader. Oliver Wyman provides the management consulting focus, investment and culture that will allow our people and clients to thrive, while enabling Booz Allen to retain a core focus on serving US government clients at the center of mission and technology."
The deal is expected to close in 2022.
Booz Allen Seeks Cybersecurity Acquisitions
Booz Allen also remains in acquisition mode. The company's budget from 2021 through 2025 includes $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion in total capital deployment that “prioritizes strategic acquisitions,” Booz Allen CEO Horacio Rozanski told Wall Street analysts during an earnings call on January 28, 2022, according to a SeekingAlpha transcript.
