The move is part of a series of deals with smaller adoption agenciesthat Tact has planned for the next year.
Kevin Williams, Tact's chief executive, said the move had been takenbecause "the increasing use of regional commissioning by councils hashad a financial impact, particularly on smaller adoption agencies, andled them to consider other options, including approaching us."
A spokesman for Tact, which has an interim management team in place atthe Independent Adoption Service, said the merger had not yet beenfinalised.
Williams added that by early summer further mergers are planned, whichare set to take Tact's annual turnover to around 30m.
Meanwhile, the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies has received13,000 from the Government to help improve agencies' business andmarketing skills. Consortium trustee Yvette Gayford says she knows oftwo other agencies considering a similar move to the one taken by theIndependent Adoption Service.
