In the latest twist in the restructuring of the accounting and consulting industry, French firm Atos Origin has bought the British and Dutch consulting arms of KPMG.

The French firm, which specialises in technology consulting, said it had agreed to pay 657m euros (�451m; $617m) for the operations, and that the deal still required approval from shareholders.

The two units employ 2,800 staff, and remain separate from US-based KPMG Consulting, which was floated off from KPMG in February 2001.

The deal represents the latest stage in a protracted game of musical chairs in the business-services industry, sparked by the collapse of energy trader Enron and the subsequent disintegration of accounting firm Andersen.

KPMG Consulting, meanwhile, is currently negotiating the purchase of Andersen's consultancy division, and one-time parent KPMG tried to buy Andersen outright.

Dithering deals

Some previous attempted deals in the consulting business have come off the rails, as managers proved unable to stitch together what is ultimately a personality-led business.

KPMG, for example, was unable to merge with Andersen except in a handful of countries.

But Atos Origin, which was not previously widely known, seems to have a better chance of clinching this deal.

The two firms fit together relatively well, and the price tag is modest, at just over one year's turnover for the two units.

"This is not in line with Atos Origin's traditional deals, when they buy underperforming businesses and drive out costs, but it is still being received well by the market... because it isn't dilutive to earnings and it is being financed through debt rather than equity," said Lehman Brothers analyst Phil Davies.

The deal is similar to one two years ago, when the French tech firm Cap Gemini bought the consulting arm of accountants Ernst & Young.

The price tag then, at around �7bn, was far higher - reflecting the collapse in revenues suffered by technology consultants in the past couple of years.