WGroup and Wavestone announce merger to start a new and ambitious growth chapter in the US

WGroup and Wavestone, a Paris-based IT management consultancy, have announced a merger.

WGroup: transforming old legacy-centric IT into a modern, digital, and business-oriented one

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WGroup is an IT executive management consultancy focused on delivering IT strategy, cost optimization, and operational improvement advisory services to IT leaders in large enterprises across North America.

The company’s experience spans multiple verticals such as healthcare and insurance, media and entertainment, global manufacturing, retail, and financial services.

The WGroup team is comprised of approximately 100 members, including 50+ permanent employees.

For its last calendar year (ended December 31, 2018), WGroup recorded consolidated revenue of $26.1m (€23.2m), up 16%, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 15%.

A new and ambitious growth chapter in the US, in line with Wavestone’s 2021 strategic plan

This merger accelerates the international development of Wavestone in the US, in line with Wavestone’s 2021 Strategic Plan. After the merger, Wavestone’s annual revenue in the US will total approximately $35m.

“The US is a bellwether market in the consulting industry,” commented Pascal Imbert, Wavestone’s CEO. “We were impressed by WGroup’s leadership team and its ability to consistently expand its client base. We are eager to start working with WGroup’s team and thrive together, seizing new opportunities in the US”.

“After laying a 15-year foundation of persistent organic growth delivering world-class executive IT advisory to some of the best clients in the world, we’ve reached an inflection point,” said Jeffrey Vail, CEO of WGroup. “We are an ambitious team with our sights set on achieving market leadership in the US market. To do so, we need to deliver more service lines, greater breadth of expertise, around-the-globe capability, and overall, enhance our value to clients. Merging with Wavestone gives us this opportunity – today”.

Terms of the operation

WGroup’s leadership team is fully committed to the merger. Jeff Vail, its CEO, joins Wavestone’s executive committee and is to take the lead of Wavestone’s business in the US after the post-merger integration program.

WGroup will be consolidated in Wavestone’s accounts as of August 1, 2019.

Wavestone’s advisors:
Innovation Advisors, Dentons, Grant Thornton

WGroup’s advisors:
Equiteq Securities LLC, Pepper Hamilton LLC

About WGroup

WGroup is an IT consulting firm with a peer-to-peer approach to IT strategy, cost optimization, and operational improvements. The team is comprised of consultants with over two decades’ experience as former C-suite executives and IT leaders. The firm boasts a clientele that includes more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies across a wide range of industries. WGroup is known for an outcome-driven, customer-specific, agnostic approach that optimizes IT operations and minimizes costs.

As of January 28, 2020, WGroup is known as Wavestone US, the North American arm of Paris-based global management and IT consulting firm Wavestone. For more information, visit https://www.wavestone.us.

About Wavestone

In a world where knowing how to drive transformation is the key to success, Wavestone’s mission is to inform and guide large companies and organizations in their most critical transformations, with the ambition of a positive outcome for all stakeholders. That’s what we call “The Positive Way.”
Wavestone draws on some 3,000 employees across 8 countries. It is a leading independent player in the European consulting market.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext Paris and recognized as a Great Place to Work®.

For more information, visit https://www.wavestone.us.