Grant Thornton Advisors has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which it will acquire CBIZ in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of $5 billion.
New Mountain Capital — which led a May 2024 investment in Grant Thornton Advisors and fueled the firm’s growth strategy — will be investing incremental equity to support the transaction.
With the combination, the multinational platform will have a footprint that spans more than 20 countries and territories, generates nearly $7.5 billion in revenue and employs more than 34,500 professionals across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
The transaction will bring together Grant Thornton Advisors’ multinational platform capabilities and CBIZ’s deep relationships across the U.S., offering clients the benefits of cross-border scale, broad multidisciplinary capabilities and AI-enabled leading-edge technology solutions, while maintaining a focused commitment to quality service and differentiated client experiences.
“By combining our multinational platform with CBIZ’s strong market presence, we’re broadening our ability to support businesses through every stage of growth — from early development to global scale,” Jim Peko, CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors and leader of the Grant Thornton Advisors’ multinational platform, said. “Together, we’ll bring the quality, scope and capabilities clients need to navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving business environment.”
Jerry Grisko, president and CEO of CBIZ, added, “This is a historic combination with a complementary cultural and strategic fit. CBIZ has grown rapidly over many years to become a leading professional services provider. Joining Grant Thornton Advisors accelerates the realization of that vision, creating a stronger firm with new and exciting opportunities for our team members and enhanced service offerings for clients, while delivering significant value to CBIZ shareholders.”
Andre Moura, managing director of New Mountain Capital, said, “We’re pleased to continue to support Grant Thornton Advisors’ strategic growth plan, a journey we have been on together since May 2024. Following the acquisition of CBIZ, Grant Thornton in the U.S. will be the fifth largest professional services, tax and advisory provider in the nation and one of the most forward-thinking firms in the world regarding AI. That scale and forward momentum will put the combined firm in a stronger position than ever to serve its clients and create meaningful opportunities for its partners and staff.”
Nikhil Devulapalli, managing director at New Mountain Capital, added, “The acquisition of CBIZ allows Grant Thornton Advisors to rapidly bring its market-leading AI and technology platform deeper into the market and continue its mission to lead on quality and breadth of service provided to a broad spectrum of clients of all sizes.”
Following the closing, Grant Thornton Advisors plans to separate CBIZ’s benefits and insurance services segment into a new stand-alone entity backed by New Mountain Capital.
“We look forward to building on the strong foundations within the Benefits and Insurance Services segment to create a new leading firm dedicated to insurance, retirement and payroll services — providing new opportunities to the clients and team members in that segment,” Bob Mulcare and Sean Donovan, managing directors at New Mountain Capital, said.
Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, CBIZ shareholders will receive $55.00 in cash for each share of CBIZ common stock they own. Upon completion of the transaction, CBIZ will become wholly-owned by Grant Thornton Advisors, and CBIZ common stock will cease to trade and no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBIZ board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction and recommends that CBIZ shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in Q4/26, subject to approval by CBIZ shareholders, receipt of required regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Goldman Sachs is serving as financial advisor to CBIZ. Weil, Gotshal & Manges is serving as legal advisor to CBIZ, and Teneo is serving as strategic communications advisor to CBIZ.
Deutsche Bank is acting as lead financial advisor for Grant Thornton Advisors. Other financial advisors include J.P. Morgan, BMO Capital Markets, BofA Securities, RBC Capital Markets and UBS Investment Bank. Evercore is acting as financial advisor to New Mountain Capital and Grant Thornton Advisors on the CBIZ benefits and insurance segment.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Mayer Brown and Hunton Andrews Kurth are serving as legal advisors to Grant Thornton Advisors, and Goldin Solutions is serving as strategic communications advisor.
