Witness the future of finance at FloQast TakeControl 2025. Join leaders in finance, accounting, audit, risk, and compliance Sept. 17–18 as they meet to learn from experts. Access cutting-edge AI strategies and practical solutions needed to stay ahead in an ever-changing industry. Join the virtual conference.
Private equity just added Wipfli to its not-so-exclusive club.
The top 25 accounting firm announced Friday it entered into an agreement with New Mountain Capital for a “significant minority investment.” In a news release, Wipfli noted the PE deal will unlock more investments in tech and talent and will also “fuel innovation.” Wipfli remained majority-owned and partner-led after the agreement, per the release.
Wipfli didn’t disclose the terms of the transaction in its announcement. Following the deal’s closing, subject to regulatory approval, Wipfli will separate its operations into Wipfli LLP, a licensed CPA firm that will provide attest services, and Wipfli Advisory LLC, which will provide business advisory and non-attest services.
“Wipfli has been on the offensive, scaling smartly and profitably. And now, we’re accelerating the course we already set with this investment,” Wipfli managing partner Kurt Gresens said in a statement. “New Mountain gives us more capital and confidence to expand and deliver even greater value to our clients and our people.”
New Mountain is far from a stranger to the world of public accounting. It acquired a majority stake of Citrin Cooperman in 2021, and recently revealed it would sell its stake in the firm to PE funds managed by Blackstone. New Mountain also bought a stake in Grant Thornton last year.
“New Mountain continues to see strong, long-term growth tailwinds in the accounting, tax, and advisory profession, a sector which is well aligned with our defensive growth investment strategy,” Andre Moura, managing director at New Mountain Capital, said in a statement. “In other investments in this space, we have been proud to support initiatives that grew client satisfaction, maintained the highest quality standards, invested in people, and expanded the breadth of service and technology capabilities.”