Roland Berger has acquired Amane Advisors, a strategic consulting firm with around 50 consultants across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.
Founded in 2013 in the United Kingdom, Amane Advisors specialises in strategic and management consulting services to organisations in three main sectors: water, waste management utilities, and energy. The firm works with blue-chip companies, public organisations and investors.
The Oxford-headquartered firm is particularly known for its expertise in water, having completed over 450+ water-focused projects on topics including municipal and industrial water, desalination, residential and commercial water, as well as sustainability-focused topics such as water conservation, risk, and recycling.
“By acquiring Amane Advisors, Roland Berger will benefit from in-depth industry know-how and a team of experts with a strong network in the fast-growing water and waste management markets,” said Stefan Schaible, Global Managing Partner at Roland Berger.
Schaible said that on top of a “perfect strategic fit with complementarities in water and waste management”, the joining of forces will also unlock new opportunities. “Combining Amane Advisors’ deep market knowledge and focused expertise with Roland Berger’s strong brand and global presence will create new opportunities for our joint future.”
The German went on to state that Roland Berger now holds a market-leading position in the water consulting landscape. Backing his claim, this year Roland Berger was named among the top consulting firms in the utilities sector in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East by Consultancy.org.
Among its current projects in the space, Roland Berger serves as the led strategic advisor to the Waste to Zero consortium, a global initiative led out of the Middle East.
Torsten Henzelmann, a leader at Roland Berger, added: “Amane Advisors has built a competitive advantage through its extensive expertise, database, and proprietary water and waste knowledge assets. The company has experienced strong growth over the years, responding to the increasing need for consultancy in the water sector. We are very much looking forward to working together with the team.”
With water scarcity a mounting global issue – recent Roland Berger research suggests that water scarcity could end up costing the worst-hit regions up to 6% of their GDP by 2050 – water management has become a top priority for many governments. Meanwhile, water-impacted private sector players are growing their calls for action.
“Water is not only the world’s most critical resource, it’s a strategic imperative that sits at the heart of sustainability and climate change,” said Geoff Gage, Managing Partner at Amane Advisors.
Thierry Noel, Founding Partner of Amane Advisors, added: “Water is now on top of the climate adaptation agenda and society, utilities, businesses, industry, municipalities need to accelerate in designing and implementing solutions. By joining Roland Berger, a leader in sustainability consulting, we can take the water topic globally, at an accelerated pace to address the growing urgency, and put water at center-stage of sustainability.”
The deal will see the teams of Amane Advisors join Roland Berger across the UK, France, Switzerland, the US, Bahrain, China, and Singapore.
The €2 billion goal
For Roland Berger, the acquisition is the second this year following the purchase of a boutique in Germany. “The acquisition of Amane Advisors further advances our international growth and propels us towards our goal of reaching €2 billion in revenues by 2028,” said Schaible.
Founded in namesake Roland Berger in 1967, Roland Berger currently has 3,000 employees in 50+ offices.
