German Arthur Andersen Unit to Merge With Braxton
July 22, 2002
The German consulting arm of beleaguered U.S. auditor Arthur Andersen LLP is planning to merge with a local rival in a bid that could help it reduce negative associations with its scandal-ridden parent and regain access to international contracts.
Arthur Andersen Business Consulting GmbH is expected to announce this week its plan to merge with the German firm formerly known as Deloitte Consulting GmbH, which was last week renamed Braxton. A statement of intent to this effect has been signed, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move will make Braxton Germany’s fifth-largest management-consulting firm. Braxton beat a number of other competitors for the deal, including International Business Machines Corp., or IBM.
The moves by a number of foreign subsidiaries to reduce associations with tainted U.S.firms are also in line with demands by securities regulators in both the U.S. and Germany to keep auditing operations separate from consulting.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP's consulting firm PwC Consulting announced last month that it will change its name to “Monday”, once it is separated from its accounting parent.
Braxton was until recently a unit of accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. It also changed its name following separation from its parent company.