Flush with cash from the $175 million sale of its 450-person consulting unit to the Japanese electronics maker, the Chicago-based powerhouse said it is eyeing new geographic markets, including Raleigh, Durham, and Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.

"We want to expand our presence in the 45 existing geographic markets that we serve and also enter selected new geographic markets with high growth potential," said Dom Esposito, GT chief executive.

The $326 million firm also plans to break into the lucrative financial advisory services business through a strategic joint venture that it plans to announce shortly.

"Clients want to secure a wide range of business and personal services, such as estate planning, investment advice and insurance, from a single source," said Esposito. "Many of our clients are already asking for these services."

For Tokyo-based Hitachi, the deal provides entrée to the global IT solutions market. The $75.5 billion firm, which manufactures and markets products such as computers and semiconductors, said it plans to transition itself from a hardware provider to a "global leader in information technology solutions."

Hitachi has renamed the Dallas-based consulting outfit Experio Solutions Corporation. The group, which provides solutions to mid-size and Fortune 1000 companies in areas such as e-business strategies and technologies, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and supply chain management, will be led by the existing management team. Chuck Scoville, former managing partner of Grant Thornton's e-Business Consulting Group, will serve as its president.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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