Grant Thornton to buy CBIZ in $5b deal

Grant Thornton Advisors, one of the largest accounting and advisory firms, has agreed to buy rival CBIZ in a cash deal with a $5 billion enterprise value. The deal will create “the fifth-largest provider of professional services, tax and advisory services, with more than $5 billion in annual domestic revenue,” according to a Grant Thornton release.

The transaction will combine “Grant Thornton Advisors’ multinational platform capabilities and CBIZ’s deep relationships across the US,” according to the release. “Under the terms of the agreement, CBIZ shareholders will receive $55 in cash per share.”

The CBIZ board approved the deal, which is expected to close in Q4, and the deal includes a go-shop period that expires on August 27.

Grant Thornton ranked eighth on Accounting Today’s 2025 list of the largest US firms, with CBIZ just ahead of it at seventh. But CBIZ has come under pressure. On June 15, when its share price was down 33% year to date, activist investor Reference Equity sent a letter to leadership pushing for CBIZ to suspend its share buybacks and be more acquisitive, CFO Brew reported. The Denver-based investment management firm called M&A “a central pillar of CBIZ’s long-term strategy.”

Jerry Grisko, CBIZ president and CEO, said in a statement that “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.”

Zoom out. Grant Thornton has been on an acquisition spree since selling a stake to private equity firm New Mountain Capital in 2024. Jim Peko, CEO of Grant Thornton, told CFO Brew this April that the firm had closed 15 M&A transactions in 2025 alone. This year, prior to the CBIZ deal, Grant Thornton acquired consulting firm MCA Connect.

A wave of consolidation and takeovers has hit the accounting industry since 2021, resulting in private equity funds holding stakes in 10 of the top 20 CPA firms.

PE firms have been involved in 34 deals in the accounting services sector as of April 9 this year, according to a July 13 report by investment bank Capstone Partners.

“Financial acquirers have continued to focus on add-on engagements (91.2% of PE buyouts YTD) to scale portfolios via the buy-and-build strategy—a tactic that has seen heightened utilization since 2023,” the Capstone report said.