Integreon, a major player in the global knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) market, has acquired Grail Research from the Monitor Group. Monitor Group has also signed a five-year contract to buy research services from Integreon.

Grail Research serves the world’s leading technology, consumer products and life sciences organizations, including Microsoft, Estée Lauder and a majority of the top ten pharmaceutical companies. These organizations rely on Grail Research to provide the insights they need to launch products, build brands, assess new opportunities, evaluate M&A/partnership deals, address competitive threats and understand regulatory issues. Grail Research is headquartered in Cambridge (Mass) and in addition to its other offices in North America has offices in Beijing, Delhi and Johannesburg. The company has 200 employees worldwide.

“I am delighted to welcome the entire Grail Research team to Integreon,” said Liam Brown, CEO of Integreon. “This acquisition accelerates the expansion of our business intelligence, research and analytics business with high-end, custom market research. With the addition of Grail’s capabilities, Integreon can meet the most demanding global research requirements of our investment banking, law firm and corporate clients on an enterprise basis.” Colin Gounden, CEO and Founder of Grail Research, has joined Integreon as Chief Marketing Officer and will report directly to Liam Brown.