Aon Hewitt, Aon Corp.'s deal to buy human-resource consulting and outsourcing firm Hewitt Associates Inc. for about $4.9 billion is the latest sign that consolidation is heating up in the consulting industry.
In recent weeks, merger chatter has swirled around midsize management consulting firms A.T. Kearney Inc. and Booz & Co., as well as big Fish-in-Water-Belt-Buckle-246.html' target='_blank' class='infotextkey'>fish Deloitte.
A.T. Kearney and Booz were flirting with each other about a possible tie-up, but said last week they had called off the talks. Partners at Booz weren't especially enthusiastic about the deal, the Journal reported.
Deloitte LLP CEO Barry Salzberg recently said he's on the hunt for acquisitions in order to beef up as the business climate improves, he told the Journal at the end of June.
Deloitte last year bought most of the North American government consulting practice of BearingPoint out of bankruptcy for about $350 million. Mr. Salzberg declined to name specific future targets, but said he sees opportunities to build scale in areas including environmental and technology consulting.
Underlying the deal talk are changes in the consulting industry, where scale has become increasingly important in wooing global business.
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