Simpson Thacher is representing Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and New Mountain Capital in connection with Grant Thornton Advisors’ entry into a definitive agreement pursuant to which it will acquire CBIZ, Inc. 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.
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 high-quality service and differentiated client experiences. The transaction represents the largest of its kind in more than 25 years, and, upon closing, Grant Thornton in the U.S. is expected to become the fifth-largest provider of professional services, tax and advisory services in the U.S. With the combination, the multinational platform will have a footprint that spans more than 20 countries and territories and employs more than 34,500 professionals across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
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.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Ben Schaye, Matthew Rogers, Daisy Wu, Jack Larkin, Celine Tseng, Darya Kaboli-Nejad, Soraia Esteves and Rebecca Bitar (M&A); Ryan Bekkerus, Jessica Asrat and Tina Tang (Capital Markets); John Ilardo, Christopher Brown, Elizabeth Kates, Callie Robins, Sally Jo and Kate Burns (Credit); Andrew Blau, Harry Hudesman, John O’Neill, Nick Deguines and Caitlin McGuire (Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits); Andrew Purcell, Adam Hersch and Roberto Arza (Tax); Caroline Geiger, Alexander Franchilli, Stanley Yu, Corina DeFeo and Jennifer Park (Intellectual Property); Vanessa Burrows, Jacob Madden and Rebecca Rose (Health Regulatory); Peter Guryan, Kelly Karapetyan, Daniel Owsley and Conner Dwinell (Antitrust); Meredith Abrams, Joshua Kim and John Rupp (Financial Regulatory); Daniel Levien and Brian Japari (Regulatory); Mark Skerry, Ryan Stalnaker, Austin Lowe and Jill Boggs (Foreign Direct Investment & CFIUS); Krista McManus (Real Estate); and Toby Chun and Deepa Sarkar (Environmental).