Monitor Company files for Chapter 11; Deloitte to buy assets

(Reuters) - Consulting and advisory firm Monitor Company Group and its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, court documents showed, and said it has agreed to sell its assets to global consultancy firm Deloitte DLTE.UL.

As per the asset purchase agreement, Deloitte Consulting LLP will acquire Monitor's U.S. practice, and practices outside the United States will be acquired by certain other member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

As a pure-play strategy consultant, Monitor said it was facing increasing financial pressure as a stand alone business, forcing it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Monitor, which offers consulting services to corporations, governments, and social sector organizations, said that selling assets to Deloitte through the Chapter 11 route was the best option.

The company listed both estimated liabilities and estimated assets for the consolidated group in the range of $100 million to $500 million, according to a court filing.

The assets will be sold by means of a court-approved sale under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

"We have long admired Monitor for its excellence in strategy consulting and we are excited about the fit and compatibility of our practices," Michael Canning, national managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP's Strategy & Operations practice, said in a statement.

The transaction with Deloitte would be completed once the company gets approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Case is Monitor Company Group Limited Partnerships and affiliates, Case No. 12-13042, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad; Editing by Richard Pullin and Muralikumar Anantharaman)