PwC confirms flotation plans
PricewaterhouseCoopers today (Thursday) confirmed plans for the initial public offering of PwC Consulting, 17 months after a $18bn deal collapsed to sell the division to Hewlett Packard.
After a vote by the firm, PwC today filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to float the company on the New York Stock Exchange under the name of PwCC Limited.
PwC issued a statement today, but no details were included of how many shares are to be offered or at what price.
IT giant HP announced a shock withdrawal from the $18bn deal to buy the consulting arm of PwC in November 2000 after the company unveiled disappointing results. HP is now set to merge with Compaq.
Commentators expect the offer price of the consulting arm to be valued at much less than what HP had intended to buy it for.
PwC is the second Big Five firm to float its consulting arm.
KPMG Consulting Inc, the US consulting arm of KPMG, floated on the US NASDAQ stock market in February 2001. The company offered 112,482,000 shares of its common stock at a per share price of $18, valuing it at over $2bn (£1.3bn).
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has announced plans to separate its consulting wing, while Ernst & Young sold its consulting practice to French company Cap Gemini.