Booz Allen Hamilton buys Healthcare unit of Genova

Global consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton has acquired the health care division of Genova Technologies, a US-based IT consultancy. Roughly 40 employees, based in Baltimore, will join Booz Allen’s health care practice. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Recently, Booz Allen Hamilton was one of 15 contractors selected by the U.S. government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to work on a $7 billion contract to design, implement and evaluate changes to the center’s health care delivery model*. To boost its capabilities and services to the CMS, the global consulting firm decided to purchase Genova’s health care practice, which already provides tech services to the center and has a “deep understanding” of its information systems and business practices. “This acquisition provides an opportunity to strengthen and expand our support to the CMS,” says Kristine Martin Anderson, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen.

According to Executive Vice President Susan Penfield, who oversees Booz Allen’s health business, Booz Allen will in addition to the synergy in services also benefit from a particularly strong cultural match. “The Genova health team has a culture of innovation and a level of client commitment that are an excellent fit with the values for which our firm is known.”

The health IT landscape is one of the most lucrative growth areas in the consulting industry, as agencies seek to overhaul their legacy information systems. The purchase by Booz Allen therefore does not come as a complete surprise – the company had been on the lookout for a suitable acquisition in this space for some time, Penfield acknowledges.

Genova Technologies will retain its defense and commercial businesses.

* The project is known internally as the ‘Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design and Analysis’ (RMADA) program.