Big news in the research world today: Gartner has announced that right at the end of 2009, it acquired competitor Burton Group for approximately $56 million in cash. Gartner financed the acquisition through the use of cash on hand and borrowings under its existing line of credit.

Burton Group is a Midvale, UT-headquartered research and advisory services firm that focuses on providing advice to IT professionals. According to the statement, Burton Group has approximately 41 research analysts, 40 sales and client service associates, and projected 2009 revenue of $30 million.

Gartner expects the acquisition of Burton Group to be accretive to its revenue, earnings and cash-flow over time. On a GAAP basis, the transaction is expected to be dilutive to income per share by ($0.12) – ($0.10) in 2010 and accretive to income per share by at least $0.00 – $0.03 in 2011.

Gartner’s stock is up a bit in early trading on NYSE.