LatAm’s consolidating IT consulting and services market

Latin America's IT consulting and services market is undergoing a period of consolidation as larger companies seek to grow and add new capabilities.

Since its founding in 2003, Argentine unicorn Globant has bought up 29 companies, with an average deal amounting to US$26.2mn, according to Tracxn. After closing five deals in 2023, the now multinational IT services company acquired Brazilian consultancy Iteris and US-based IT services company Exusia last year. 

"It's a global plan. Globant is very interested in continuing to grow in this way, although also organically, which is our main driver," Globant executive VP Diego Schargorodsky told BNamericas in 2023.

Last September, US software engineering company EPAM announced an agreement to acquire Neoris, a technology consultancy with more than 4,700 professionals in Latin America, Spain and the US. Neoris was previously owned by investor fund Advent.

With few entry barriers, Latin America's IT market is still quite dispersed, says Francisco Figueroa, CEO of Chilean technology consultancy Apiux, which recently bought fellow Chilean consulting firm Nectia. "But at the end of the day, I think the market will mature and consolidate," he tells BNamericas.

“If you look at what Accenture or Globant are doing – buying smaller companies with certain capabilities – we're also doing but on a smaller scale. The idea is to grow regionally and diversify revenues. We're looking for companies that can complement our offering,” adds Figueroa, who says the strategy is to buy companies with US$10mn to US$15mn in annual revenue. 

The firm – which also has a presence in Colombia, Peru and Spain – seeks to offer the US market IT nearshoring services.  

With about 20 clients in its portfolio, the acquisition of Nectia is expected to increase Apiux's revenue by nearly 25% to around US$20mn, while adding 40 employees to bring total staff to 450 workers.