Deloitte Breaks into Local E-Commerce in Australia

Global consulting group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has marked its
entry into the local e-commerce and software market, by taking a 20 per
cent stake of Internet solutions firm Eclipse Group.

Deloitte intends the investment to increase its access to Australian
business, as the two companies have signed a strategic agreement to develop
e-commerce solutions.

“We believe that the two cultures will combine to create Australia’s
leading e-commerce consultancy,” said Deloitte Growth Solutions partner
Michael Kean.

The companies would not disclose the financial details of the deal, but
the acquisition involved Deloitte purchasing stock from shareholders of
Melbourne-based Eclipse, an unlisted public company.

As part of the deal, Deloitte has also acquired the exclusive right to
use Eclipse’s e-business solution e-Hive. Deloitte intends to incorporate
e-Hive into its consulting solutions package, and push its e-business
consulting growth.

e-Hive is composed of hundreds of pre-built software applications, and
is used as a consultant’s tool in planning projects.

Eclipse also develops Web site and intranet solutions, as well as
strategic and e-commerce consulting.

Deloitte will concentrate on providing Eclipse’s technology for the
Australian market at the moment, with a view to rolling out its combined
solution to international markets, Kean said.