Accenture Ltd. acquires Gestalt in Joplin

Gestalt, a privately held company based in Camden, N.J., is a business and technology consulting firm to the defense and energy industries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gestalt opened an office in Joplin in 2005 and became the first tenant of the Joseph Newman Business & Technology Innovation Center in January 2006. Richard Baldwin, program manager of Joplin Gestalt, said the company employs 30 at the local office. Accenture said it would offer positions to Gestalt’s 250 employees.

According to its Web site, Gestalt has won more than $114 million in defense contracts over the past 18 months and is now involved in almost every major training exercise the U.S. Department of Defense conducts worldwide. Gestalt has created systems that “enhance communication between branches of the military, allow for faster decision making, decrease the likelihood of human error in combat scenarios and make combat solutions for fighter pilots more realistic and efficient,” according to the site.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company that serves business and government clients, according to its Web site. It recorded net revenues of $19.7 billion for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31.

Accenture employs approximately 170,000 workers in more than 150 cities in 49 countries. It was founded in 1995 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

“With this acquisition, we have expanded the range of capabilities that will enable our defense clients and their customers to achieve high performance,” said Eric Stange, managing director of Accenture’s U.S. defense practice, in a news release. “Together, Accenture and Gestalt will provide the defense department with cross-domain skills in C4ISR that will enable our Armed Forces to fight smarter, respond more quickly and execute more efficiently.”

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close within 60 days, Accenture said.

Shares of Accenture (NYSE: ACN) closed Wednesday at $39.13 and were trading down 61 cents as of 10 a.m. The 52-week range is $31.17 to $44.03.

Jeff Wells is editor of Joplin Tri-State Business, Springfield Business Journal’s sister publication. See more on this story in JTB’s Nov. 5 issue.