CHICAGO - West Monroe Partners, a full-service business and technology consultancy, today announced the acquisition of Waterstone Management Group, an advisory firm for private equity firms and Fortune 500 companies.
The acquisition expands and deepens West Monroe’s strategic advisory and operations improvement services to clients who leverage software-enabled technology to provide value and a compelling experience to their customers. The addition of Waterstone brings additional pre-close diligence capabilities including commercial, market, and competitive assessments, as well as post-close value creation capabilities in growth strategy and operations. The acquisition expands West Monroe’s national M&A team by about 15%, with about half the acquired employees joining the firm’s headquarters in Chicago and the other half joining the San Francisco office, increasing the firm’s employee count by nearly 40% in the Bay Area.
“West Monroe continuously evaluates opportunities to serve our clients better and this stood out as an outstanding fit in terms of culture, leadership, and market capabilities,” said Matt Sondag, managing director and national leader for West Monroe’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice.
“It immediately adds new service capabilities in growth strategy and operations improvement, as well as deepens our expertise in the software space, which currently represents one-third of our transaction volume.”
Waterstone, founded in 2003, has served boards and management teams of more than 100 leading technology companies, helping them grow, launch new offerings, and transform their business and operating models. Combined with West Monroe, the firm’s M&A practice will be able to provide a full array of commercial, technology, and operations diligence as well as post-close implementation services. Both firms have substantial experience in successfully serving and delivering results for mid-sized and large-scale investments.
“We are excited to be joining West Monroe and see endless growth opportunities for our clients and the Waterstone team,” said Neil Jain, who joins West Monroe as a director in the firm’s Chicago office. “West Monroe’s capabilities around software engineering, digital transformation, and technology implementation will be a powerful combination with Waterstone’s capabilities,” added Dhaval Moogimane who joins West Monroe as a director in the San Francisco office.
West Monroe’s acquisition of Waterstone comes at a time of heightened activity in the U.S. private investment market, where robust fundraising, strong exit markets, and attractive returns have spurred M&A activity. From 2010 to 2015, private equity’s share of M&A activity stayed steady at about 25%, but by 2018 it became responsible for more than one-third, according to Pitchbook.
“Now more than ever, private equity firms and corporate investors are seeking partners who bring deep industry expertise along with a wide breadth of services to realize their investment thesis,” Sondag said. “West Monroe has both expanded its capabilities and deepened its expertise with this acquisition.”
About West Monroe Partners
West Monroe is a national business and technology consulting firm that partners with dynamic organizations to reimagine, build, and operate their businesses at peak performance. Our team of more than 1,100 professionals is comprised of an uncommon blend of business consultants and deep technologists. This unique combination of expertise enables us to design, develop, implement, and run strategic business and technology solutions that yield a dramatic commercial impact on our clients’ profitability and performance.
Media Contact
Christina Galoozis
cgaloozis@wmp.com
312.447.6623