KPMG Consulting Moving to NYSE

KPMG Consulting, the former consultancy arm of Big Four firm KPMG, will change its listing from the NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, October 3. To celebrate the moment, KPMG Consulting Chairman and CEO Rand Blazer and other members of the firm's management will ring the opening bell on the NYSE floor on Thursday. "KPMG Consulting is a proven leader in providing business consulting services, and we look forward to an outstanding partnership with the company and its shareholders," said [1] NYSE Chairman and CEO Dick Grasso.

On Wednesday, October 2, in conjunction with the move to the NYSE, KPMG Consulting intends to announce a name change, following the trend set by other consultancy spin-offs from the big accounting firms. Andersen Consulting changed its name to Accenture, Deloitte Consulting has announced plans to change to Braxton when the company goes private, and PwC Consulting had plans to change its name to Monday until the company was consumed by IBM.

The agreement between KPMG Consulting and accounting firm KPMG International is that KPMG Consulting change its name and stop using the reference to KPMG by February 13, 2005. KMPG Consulting expects to spend $20 to $40 million marketing its new brand identity.

KPMG Consulting trades under the symbol KCIN. The stock is currently trading at approximately $8 per share, down from the $18 opening share price the firm enjoyed when it went public in 2001.

"We believe the NYSE listing will increase the company's visibility in the global financial markets, thereby expanding our potential investor base," said [2] Mr. Blazer.