News round-up: January 28

Once, it was Monday. In a matter of days, it shall be Monday once more. But it is not this day! Today is Friday, and this is the last news round-up of the week on Consult THIS.

SRA International, a Beltway defense and security consultancy, is actively seeking buyers willing to fork over at least $2 billion for the firm. Reuters reports that SRA, which has flirted with multiple suitors (most recently with UK-based Serco Group) over the past year, has a market value of roughly $1.5 billion. Standing in the way of any deal is SRA Chairman Ernst Volgenau, who not only boasts a cool German name but also controls 70 percent of the firm's voting stock; reports suggest that the high price tag Volgenau is demanding will make it difficult for SRA to reach a deal with any buyer. That has been the case so far, though private equity heavyweights like Carlyle Group, Providence Equity, Bain Capital, and The Blackstone Group are rumored to retain interest. Investment bank Houlihan Lokey will preside over any buyout.

Capgemini has joined the fight against cancer by striking an alliance with Novo Oncology Associates (NOA), which calls itself "a high specialized clinical and management life sciences company." As the effort to defeat the disease continues without a cure, oncology has become an important and complex industry of its own; it was a need to better service the "constantly changing oncology landscape" that ushered in the alliance, Capgemini reps said. Capgemini will bring consultants and tech expertise to the table, while NOA brings academics and scientists of international repute. The firms' combined efforts will provide "direct and immediate access to academic, government and community practice research," making it easier for clients to wade through the reams of information published every year on cancer research.

And now, a sprint to the finish: Deloitte was named 2011's "Top Company for Generational Communications" by DiversityInc, a publication that studies diversity trends in business; Ernst & Young announced that it would partner with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to come up with a mechanism by which private equity firms could discern the environmental strengths and weaknesses of prospective acquisitions; Mercer announced a major contract that will see it provide actuarial support for German consumer products giant Henkel; and finally, in news of consultancies-with-former-dictator's-names, public company Charles Taylor Consulting announced today that it would report lower than expected earnings for this financial year. Maybe if they had a better name (I think Mugabe Associates and Idi Amin LLP are both available) people would actually pay for their advice.

Happy weekend.

For more information:
Reuters Dealtalk: SRA seeks rich premiums as buyers circle
Capgemini Consulting and Novo Oncology Associates (NOA) Jointly Establish an Oncology Unit
Deloitte Receives DiversityInc Special Award for Generational Workforce Communications
EDF and EY to Pilot a Program on Environmental Innovation for Private Equity
Henkel selects Mercer as global actuary
Charles Taylor Consultants adjusted pre-tax profits to be lower than expected