September 2, 2022

PCB Partners advises Wavestone on the acquisition of PEN Partnership

Regarding PCB Partners’ role in the transaction, Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director for Wavestone said: “We have been working with PCB Partners to accelerate our development in the UK. They brought a deep knowledge of the consulting market in the UK, which helped us to accelerate the screening and initiate meaningful conversations with relevant targets. And they added continuously value during the execution of the deal, securing the process until the closing. I look forward working with the team on new opportunities.”

The Transaction

PCB Partners acted as the exclusive buy-side corporate finance advisor to Wavestone, working hand in glove with the strategy and M&A team to win an auction process, providing intimate sector insight, market intelligence and counsel end to end.

The project fits perfectly with Wavestone’s strategic plan ‘Impact’: to accelerate the firm’s external growth in its target geographies.

The acquisition is a great opportunity to enrich Wavestone’s value proposition in the UK. The addition of PEN Partnership’s expertise in Financial Services and Life Sciences to Wavestone’s technological capabilities will offer a first-class proposition to clients to help tackle their transformation challenges, across the two industries and the wider UK market.

Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director of Wavestone, added “This merger enhances Wavestone’s ability to deliver global transformation programmes. With PEN Partnership, we can accelerate our growth in the UK and deepen our value proposition in Financial Services and Life Sciences globally. It’s clear from our discussions with PEN Partnership that there are synergies not only in the services provided, but the company culture. There is strong alignment on topics such as CSR, Diversity & Inclusion, as well as Great Place to Work, and this is a key success factor for our project.”

PEN Partnership

Founded in 2012, PEN Partnership has established itself as a trusted partner for its clients operating across the Financial Services and Life Sciences sectors. PEN Partnership serves some of the most reputable organisations within these industries across four core specialisms: Customer Experience & Digital, Operations & Automation, Data & Technology and Change Delivery & Capability. PEN Partnership is headquartered in London, with a headcount of circa 60 permanent employees and an additional circa 40 contractors

“Wavestone and PEN Partnership together make a powerful combination and this is really great news for our clients and staff” said Chris Gibson, PEN Partnership’s CEO. “The two companies provide complementary services and share very similar corporate culture and values. Wavestone has an ambitious growth plan and I am very excited for the PEN team to play a key role in building a leading consultancy player in the UK market.”

Our Perspective

The Wavestone acquisition is the latest in a string of transactions handled by PCB Partners this year and sees the boutique advisory firm continue to establish its reputation amongst major corporates and private equity investors as one of the leading players in the space, providing buy-side and sell-side services, with a focus on disruptive technologies, digital transformation, management consulting and creative marketing services businesses across the globe.

Brett Newland, Managing Partner at PCB Partners said: “It was a pleasure working with both the Wavestone and PEN team. The agility and spirit in Wavestone’s approach to inorganic growth, is a reflection of their continued and serious intentions across the globe. We are looking forward to working with Wavestone as they continue their expansion plans to reach a target revenue of €750M by 2025.”