Grant Thornton’s US business, backed by private equity, along with Sweden’s EQT and London-based Permira, have moved to the next round of bidding for Grant Thornton UK, reported the Financial Times.
The sale could fetch a valuation of up to £1.5bn ($1.97bn), indicating a significant shift in the UK accountancy landscape.
The firm operates globally as a network of independent partnerships, and merging the UK firm with the US entity would represent a considerable change.
Grant Thornton US, having recently sold a majority stake to New Mountain Capital, is looking to pursue international expansion, including a potential acquisition of Grant Thornton Ireland.
An executive of one of the firms that bid for the firm was quoted by the publication as saying: “It’s fascinating to see that world opening up to private equity and they actually want us to own them.
“It’s a people business and we understand people businesses because we are one.”
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By GlobalDataThe potential sale of Grant Thornton UK had initially attracted interest from several private equity groups, including Blackstone, Carlyle, Bridgepoint, and CVC Capital Partners.
CVC, initially perceived as a leading contender, opted not to bid, possibly due to the complexity arising from its ownership of Teneo and the recent addition of Deloitte’s former restructuring unit.
UK regulations requiring audit firms to be majority-owned by qualified accountants mean that any buyout firm’s investment would likely necessitate a separate audit practice within Grant Thornton UK.
Grant Thornton UK said the company was assessing “various avenues that will drive growth for our firm”.
It added: “No decisions have been made and, whilst we are considering our options, we will not be commenting further.”
Recently, the firm promoted Andrew Charter to role of chief client officer for the South West and Wales.
