Delta Partners has managed to rise to the league of large consulting firms after being acquired by FTI, an American group listed on the Nasdaq. The operation was completed three years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, for a value of 100 million euros, and this week the group has made official the launch of FTI Delta on a global scale. “It is an example of the potential that Delta has to compete directly against the large global consulting firms, McKinsey, BCG and Bain,” celebrates Victor Font, co-founder of Delta Partners with Kristoff Puelinckx.
In 2006, both businessmen packed their bags for Dubai convinced that strategic consulting in the world of telecommunications would make a difference. Font and Puelinckx had learned working at Cluster Consulting, one of the first successful companies in the Barcelona digital ecosystem, which was sold for 1 billion before the dotcom bubble burst.
“I remember that people gave me their condolences when I told them that at 33 years old I was going to Dubai to promote a business project. Then it was an unknown place but we saw that it offered logistical, fiscal, administrative and quality of life advantages,” says Font, who was also a candidate for the presidency of the Barcelona Football Club.
From the Middle East, Delta Partners has grown throughout the world advising telecommunications, sports, media, entertainment, technology and public administration groups. Following the launch of FTI Delta, Font now aims to expand its range of services by creating specialized teams.
Currently, Delta has a workforce of 350 professionals, more than double what it was three years ago. They work in offices around the world, located in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Dubai, Doha, London, Singapore, Sydney, Johannesburg and, of course, Barcelona. 30 people work in this city under the leadership of Font, who recognizes that he spends most of his time traveling around the world.
Billing is also on the path of growth. If in 2020 Delta earned around 100 million euros, now it has a turnover of close to 200 and within three years it aims to reach 1,000 million. Its parent company, the FTI group, had a turnover of more than 3,000 million in 2022, a small part of which came from the legal advisory activity that the firm has in Madrid and Barcelona.
In addition to the consulting service, Delta also has an investment banking division whose activity was assimilated by FTI after the acquisition. Font recalls that, apart from the sale, the company Delta Partners Growth Fund was left, an investment vehicle that intended to invest in global projects in the telecommunications sector. The businessman explains that he managed to raise 100 million from renowned investors, but that his activity was limited as he was not able to raise more resources due to a failure in the commercial strategy.
Aside from the FTI Delta project, Font claims to be linked to the Catalan business community. He is a startup investor in a personal capacity and, in the future, does not rule out running again for the presidency of Barça.
