Throwing a TLDR in here so we don’t get accused of clickbaiting: It’s Aprio. Details are sparse for now and we’re told it’s all very hush-hush inside the firm but we do know staff were informed earlier this week that a deal is coming.
So FT ran this yesterday: ‘Private equity groups poised to own one in three top US accounting firms‘ and in it, they paraphrased people familiar with the matter as saying “ten of the 30 largest US accounting firms could soon be in private equity hands.”
The article goes on to say:
The acquisitions by financial buyers of those two top-10 firms by revenue opened the floodgates to other deals, the people said, positioning private equity to increase its influence over the US accounting profession dramatically.
One top-30 firm, Atlanta-based Aprio, was planning a deal to sell a majority stake to the private equity firm Charlesbank Capital, according to people familiar with the situation.
Two more — New York’s PKF O’Connor Davies and Carr, Riggs & Ingram of Alabama — had engaged bankers to run sale processes, they said.
The two top-10 firms they’re talking about are Grant Thornton and Baker Tilly.
FT has some details on each of the firms mentioned, such as Carr, Riggs & Ingram shopping themselves out to three suitors and using “premier global boutique” investment bank William Blair to advise on the deal. And PKF O’Connor Davies working with Capstone Partners. Both firms failed to respond when FT reached out for their piece.
Aprio did respond but hit ’em with a no comment. We’re told by a tipster Aprio is in the middle of a private equity deal that is “all but finalized,” information that was passed along to staff in a town hall yesterday. This Reddit comment co-signs that story:
Comment
byu/Designer-Can-5891 from discussion
inAccounting
There’s also apparently some drama with the IT team getting ousted but we need to dig into that some more.
If you’ve got more info, you know what to do. Anonymous tips can be sent by email or text.
Update: There’s a Reddit thread about this situation worth sharing with you. The fear and uncertainty is not unexpected but unpleasant to read regardless.
Private Equity Buyout at Aprio
byu/Intelligent-End-8973 inAccounting
Seems like in the next few years every firm not in the top 4 will have some kind of PE backing.
Except Marcum, apparently.
Who could trust a dirty Weiner? It’s why their deal fell apart. House of cards.
Except firms who are actually financially sound
This does not bode well for the integrity of the accounting firms. Focus will drop to bottom line, ignoring the audit work that ensures we can rely on client compliance and accuracy in financial records. Sad trend but it parallels what’s happening in the rest of the country.
I’d feel ok about it if the P/E funds/cash were truly being used to fund future acquisitions, but the truth is that a significant portion will go to current equity partners. This isn’t entirely about funding acquisitions, it’s about cashing out. Richard will spin it into something else that it’s not, of course. The culture of the firm will change significantly over the next year or so (and if rumors are true, it’s already changed). This is the first (and probably the last) bad move that Richard has made.
You don’t think pushing conservation easements on clients for years, and failing to stand up for clients when one of his partners admitted stealing money from dozens of clients were bad moves?
I am sure PE will value to huge investment that accounting firms make in training and pour more resources into technology and audit and tax capabilities.