KPMG Consulting announced today that it has signed a letter of intent to buy the business consulting units of Andersen Worldwide Societe Cooperative, also known as Andersen Worldwide.
The letter of intent is an offer to acquire up to 23 independent Andersen consulting units at a price of up to $284 million.
Additionally, up to $6.5 million in shares will be issued over a three-year period to Andersen's consulting partners who join KPMG Consulting in connection with the transaction.
The letter of intent covers the acquisition of Andersen's consulting practices in Europe, the US, the Asia Pacific region and Latin America.
KPMG Consulting, one of the world's largest consulting firms, has already completed the purchase of the Andersen consulting operations in Hong Kong and in China.
The purchase of Andersen's US consulting operations would require resolution of all potential legal problems linked to the Arthur Andersen LLP's controversial role in auditing the books of former client Enron Corporation.
