Cognizant acquires Equinox Consulting

TEANECK, USA: Cognizant has announced that it has acquired Equinox Consulting, a financial services consulting firm based in Paris, France. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Equinox Consulting provides business consulting services across investment banking, asset management, retail banking, insurance, and specialized financial services. Founded in 2004, the company is known for its deep regulatory consulting expertise, spanning Basel III, Solvency II, EMIR/Dodd-Frank, FATCA and MiFID, in addition to strategy consulting, organization and operations management, change management, and HR consulting.

Under the terms of the agreement, about 160 consulting professionals will join Cognizant. The combination of Cognizant's global consulting and delivery capabilities and Equinox's consulting expertise will further enhance Cognizant's integrated global platform for financial services clients to "run better" by improving performance efficiencies as well as "run different" by building new business capabilities and driving innovation.

Francisco D'Souza, chief executive officer of Cognizant: "We look forward to welcoming Equinox Consulting's talented professionals to Cognizant. This strategic acquisition underscores our commitment to the French and European markets, and reinforces our position as one of the top consulting companies across the region. With this acquisition, Cognizant is even better positioned to help European clients challenge the status quo and unleash new potential across their organizations by creating new business and IT models in response to secular shifts in the economy and technology."

"The agreement announced today is a major step forward for us," said Jean-Francois Rigal, Chief Executive Officer of Equinox Consulting. "The outstanding growth and success of Equinox Consulting in the last nine years have been built on the foundation of customer satisfaction, deep industry expertise, and specialized knowledge around regulatory mandates. International expansion and the ability to deliver broader consulting solutions to clients are critical for us to continue our strong growth and provide greater opportunities for our employees."