Reports have surfaced that IBM is about to announce the planned acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Consulting. Neither company is available for comment on the business combination, but the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that an announcement is imminent.

Previously, Hewlett-Packard came very close to acquiring PwC's consulting arm. At that time, nearly two years ago, the estimated price of the consultancy was approximately $18 billion. Today, it is estimated that the going rate for PwC Consulting is in the $5-7 billion range. PwC Consulting employs 33,000 in offices in 52 countries.

Just last month, PwC Consulting filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. It was expected that the float would occur sometime in mid-August, 2002.

PwC Consulting recently announced plans to change its name to Monday. There is no indication yet as to whether IBM, if it does go forward with the acquisition, will retain the new name.