Gartner buy out Burton Group

Gartnerhas acquired rival analyst Burton Group for $56 million (£35 million) cash.

The move follows Gartner’s acquisition of AMR, an analyst group specialising in supply chain systems, last month for $64 million.

The Burton acquisition will add 41 research analysts and 40 sales and client service associates, Gartner said. Burton was expecting to turn over $30 million in 2009.

Some jobs are likely to go following the deal, with Gartner stating that the acquisition will expand Gartner’s product and service offerings, “increase its IT research market opportunity” and “drive operational efficiencies and cost savings”.

Gene Hall, Gartner’s chief executive officer, said, “Gartner has traditionally focused on providing strategic insight to CIOs and senior IT executives, while Burton Group has built a leading niche providing practical, how-to advice to front-line IT professionals.

“Thus, Burton Group is a great strategic fit for Gartner and should enable us to offer a more complete solution to every level and functional expert within an IT organisation. By leveraging our scale and worldwide distribution capabilities, we expect to significantly grow Burton Group’s business over time.”