Dive Brief:

• KPMG officially completed of its acquisition of the Human Resources Service Delivery (HRSD) practice of Towers Watson, a leading talent and human capital professional services organization. The closing follows the July 9, 2015 announcement of the transaction.
• KPMG, together with other member firms of KPMG International, has acquired Towers Watson’s HRSD practice resources in the U.S., United Kingdom, China, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines.
• The acquisition marks KPMG’s sixth transaction in the HR transformation space in the past four years. In addition to Towers Watson’s HRSD practice, the firm has acquired EquaTerra, Optimum Solutions, The Hackett Group’s Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning practice, Zanett Consulting Solutions and the Workday practice of Axia Consulting.

Dive Insight:

Stephen N. Chase, U.S. Management Consulting leader of KPMG's Advisory practice, said the combination of our global HR transformation teams solidifies the firm's position as a top-tier HR strategy, transformation and Workday HCM (human capital management) partner.

Liz DeVito, associate director and lead for HR Consulting Research at Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory, called the acquisition a "coup" for KPMG, which she adds has been making strides in the HR transformation consulting space over the last few years. She also says TW's deep HR function expertise, years of experience providing HR transformation consulting, long-term partnership with Workday, and internal Workday implementation team of cross-functional specialists create a compelling mix of traditional HR consulting and technology-led innovation in this segment of the HR consulting space.

As with all M&A deals, time will tell.