Gartner Buy Brings Supply Chain Expertise

IT research giant Gartner, Inc. has agreed to acquire supply chain specialist AMR Research, Inc. for approximately $64 million in cash.

The deal is subject to closing adjustments and should conclude later this month. AMR, which provides research and advisory services for supply chain management and IT professionals, has projected full year 2009 revenues of c.$40m and is best known for its research focused on the intersection of business processes and technology for the supply chain professional.

Gartner says the deal should expand its suite of research offerings and complement its consulting and events businesses. It also hopes to tap the expertise of AMR's experienced sales team to further penetrate the 'vast market opportunity' for syndicated research.

Anticipating operational efficiencies and cost savings, Gartner says it expects the deal to be neutral to 2009 results and 'modestly accretive' to adjusted income per share in 2010. The buy will be financed with cash on hand plus borrowings under the Company's existing line of credit.

Gartner CEO Gene Hall says the two are an excellent strategic fit: '[AMR] is the market leader for research related to supply chain management, which is inextricably linked to IT and has become a central and growing issue for many organizations. We expect the acquisition to give us immediate presence in this market and the ability to generate substantial synergies by selling AMR Research products to Gartner clients and Gartner products to AMR Research clients. The addition of AMR Research's team of approximately 40 research analysts and 45 sales executives should enable us to offer expanded resources to our clients and increase our opportunities for growth.'

AMR CEO Tony Friscia welcomes Gartner's scale and worldwide distribution as a means to sell his firm's 'world-class products to a much larger client base than it ever could as an independent company'.

Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, CT and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. A month ago the Group posted a 9% decline in revenue; the same week it won a judgement from a California court in which a software firm had claimed $132m in damages over supposed defamation, trade libel and other charges based on its treatment in a published report.

Web site: www.gartner.com .

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

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