Chinese Buyer for US Technology Consultant

Beijing-based iSoftStone Information Service Corp is to acquire Seattle, USA-based business and technology consulting firm Akona Consulting. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Akona has around 50 employees and had revenue of $6.8 million last year. The deal means iSoftStone will expand its US operations and grow into areas including research, business strategy, and interactive design.

iSoftStone is an IT outsourcing service provider, with offices in the US, Japan and Korea, as well as many Chinese cities. Its CEO T.W. Liu comments: 'Our customers are continuously asking us to provide a combination of off-shore technology capabilities as well as local, on-site business consulting services. As such, we look forward to expanding our presence through Akona's business service offerings as we grow globally, particularly in the United States and Europe.'

Akona CEO Lincoln Popp says Akona's services are 'the perfect complement to what iSoftStone is already doing overseas. 'By combining our business consulting service offerings with iSoftStone's technical and engineering resources, we think we'll have a great advantage in delivering value to our combined customer base.' Popp cofounded Akona in 2004 with Anders Brown, a fellow former employee of Microsoft. Its four key disciplines are Research and Strategy, including analytical services; Creative and Interactive Design for the web and other media; Project Leadership; and Application Development.

Web sites are at www.isoftstone.com and www.akonaconsulting.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.