Gartner acquires AMR Research

Gartner said Tuesday that it has acquired AMR Research for $64 million in cash in the latest consolidation move in the IT research business.

AMR is expected to have revenue of roughly $40 million in 2009.

With the deal, Gartner gets some heft in enterprise software research, notably enterprise resource planning and supply chain management. Gartner said AMR will bolster its research, events and consulting businesses. There will also be "operational efficiencies and cost savings."

Gartner will pay for AMR with cash on hand and its credit line (statement).

Under generally accepted accounting principles, the AMR deal will dilute Gartner earnings by 9 cents a share to 11 cents a share in 2010. In 2011, AMR is projected to add income of a penny a share to 4 cents a share. Excluding charges, AMR will be "modestly accretive" to 2010 earnings and add about 4 cents a share to 6 cents a share to earnings in 2011.