International consulting firm Towers Perrin has agreed to buy German occupational pensions adviser Rauser AG for an undisclosed sum. While another international firm, Hewitt Associates has formally launched its German joint venture with Bode Grabner Beye(BGB), a Munich-based actuarial and benefits consultancy.
Until now, Towers has largely focused on human resource consulting in Germany, including occupational pensions. By acquiring Rauser, it can offer complete occupational pensions advising, including actuarial services, investment consulting and pensions administration.
The deal combines Towers’ 290 employees in Germany with around 100 from Rauser. The two parties will operate offices in Frankfurt, Cologne and Reutlingen, near Stuttgart.
Rauser executives Rainer Wurzberger and Reiner Schwinger will also join Towers’ management board in Germany, which is led by Michael Kramarsch.
Kramarsch says: “Not only does the acquisition make us one of Germany’s leading consultants for occupational pensions, we have also become the only consultant which provides these services with fully-integrated human resource management.”
Hewitt and BGB say that BodeHewitt would provide the full range of occupational pensions consulting to local and international companies in Germany. This included benefits, investment consulting and pensions administration, they say.
The partners add that the venture’s 130 employees would operate from three offices in Germany, including Munich, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden.
The partners also say the chief reason for their tie-up was the huge growth potential of German occupational pensions amid “the government’s withdrawal from the pensions arena”.
BodeHewitt has emerged almost a year after Christoph Bode, managing partner at Bode Grabner Beye, says his firm was looking for an international partner to replace Watson Wyatt.
Watson Wyatt has already opened its own occupational pensions advising office in Munich after dissolving a 22-year old joint venture with Bode in late 2003.

Topics