Professional Services Buyout Acquisitions in 2026

Nordic private equity firm Polaris Private Equity has agreed to become the majority investor in Valtus Group, the France-headquartered executive interim management firm. The investment will support Valtus's international expansion and operational scaling while existing shareholders GENEO Capital Entrepreneur and Société Générale Capital Partenaires remain committed investors.

Paragon Group has acquired Parseq Limited, a UK-based specialist in document, finance, and payment process automation, to strengthen its business process services capabilities. The deal (which includes 354 employees globally) is intended to expand Paragon's UK footprint, accelerate innovation by integrating Parseq's robotic process automation and machine learning capabilities, and secure intellectual property for financial services clients.

Careerminds has acquired Keystone Partners, Renovo, Job Copilot, and Outplacement Australia to create a scaled, global workforce solutions platform that spans North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The acquisitions expand Careerminds' outplacement, career transition, talent development and job-search technology capabilities and provide broader local-market delivery and expertise.

The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has acquired American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), a specialist in colored gemstone analysis and provenance reporting. AGL will remain headquartered in New York and continue operating under its brand with Chris Smith staying as President and Chief Gemologist; IGI said the acquisition—supported by Blackstone—will broaden its colored-gemstone capabilities and help expand AGL’s services beyond the U.S.

CrossCountry Consulting, a business advisory and technology solutions firm headquartered in McLean, Virginia, has acquired CDS, a San Francisco-based financial due diligence provider. The acquisition deepens CrossCountry's transaction advisory capabilities by integrating CDS's buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence expertise into a new Financial Due Diligence practice led by CDS partners Brian Drue and Anthony Azevedo.

Tandem Engineering has acquired Ann Arbor Architects Collaborative, Inc., a multidisciplinary architecture and interior design firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the deal closed on February 2, 2026. The acquisition expands Tandem’s integrated engineering and project management capabilities by adding architecture, interior design and sustainable-design expertise to its service offering.

Odgers (Odgers Berndtson) has acquired Ridgeway Partners LLC, a U.S.-based executive search firm focused on financial services and board advisory. The acquisition strengthens Odgers' Global Financial Services and Board Advisory practices and expands its U.S. capabilities and reach into major financial centers.

HR Path has merged with Enforce, a Dallas-based Dayforce specialist, to strengthen HR Path’s Dayforce consulting and managed-services capabilities in North America. Enforce brings a team of 38 Dayforce experts and a portfolio of primarily North American clients, enabling HR Path to expand Dayforce implementation, optimization, and payroll outsourcing offerings in the U.S.

Houlihan Lokey has signed an agreement to take a controlling interest in Audere Partners, strengthening its mid‑cap advisory presence in France and adding more than 50 finance professionals to its French team. Separately, the firm has acquired the real estate capital advisory business of Mellum Capital (operations in Munich and London), integrating 11 professionals and expanding Houlihan Lokey's real estate capital solutions in Europe.

PG Rugs LLC, a privately owned rug cleaning and restoration operator based in Bogota, New Jersey, has acquired Manning Brothers, including a 10,000-square-foot rug cleaning facility and warehouse. The deal expands PG Rugs' operational capacity and advances its strategy to scale rug care services across the U.S. Northeast.

Generational Group advised the sale of M. Hajjar & Associates, a Coral Gables-based architectural, engineering and consulting firm, to an unnamed private investor. The transaction closed on January 22, 2026 and was led by Generational Group’s M&A team.

Teamshares Inc., a tech‑enabled acquiror of small‑to‑medium enterprises, entered into a definitive business combination with Live Oak Acquisition Corp. V (LOKV) that values the combined company at a pro forma enterprise value of $746 million and is expected to close in Q2 2026. The deal is expected to deliver up to $333 million of net proceeds (including a $126 million PIPE anchored by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price) to fund Teamshares’ acquisition-driven growth; Teamshares reported four 4Q25 acquisitions with combined LTM EBITDA exceeding $15 million.

Prime Pensions, Inc. (PPI), a Florham Park, New Jersey-based retirement plan administrator, has acquired The Raymond Company Pension Services LLC, a third-party administrator headquartered in Mesa, Arizona. The acquisition marks PPI’s entry into the Arizona/Southwest market and will provide Raymond’s clients access to Prime Pensions’ national scale, technology solutions, and expanded plan administration capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Chief Executive Group (CEG) has acquired CEO Roundtable (CEORT), a Boston-area peer advisory organization for CEOs, bringing its members into CEG’s national Chief Executive Network. The deal preserves CEORT’s confidential peer model while expanding CEG’s presence in the Northeast and adding membership, events and research capabilities to its portfolio.

Guardian Alarm, a Southfield, Michigan–based full-service security company, has acquired National Central Alarm Systems, a Huntington, West Virginia–based security provider established in 1949. The acquisition expands Guardian Alarm's footprint into West Virginia and brings Guardian's monitoring technology, resources, and service capabilities to National Central Alarm Systems' residential and commercial customers.

Fusion CX, a global customer experience (CX) and BPO provider, acquired El Salvador-based Skycom BPO, adding approximately USD 25 million in annualized revenue and ~900 employees to its Latin America operations. The acquisition strengthens Fusion CX's nearshore delivery capabilities, expands bilingual talent, and deepens its capacity to serve telecom, utilities, BFSI and digital-native clients across the region.

Minuteman Security & Life Safety has acquired AIC Security, expanding its footprint into the Houston, Texas market. The acquisition adds local sales and operations capability and strengthens Minuteman's national platform in video surveillance, access control and life-safety integration.

Guardian Alarm, a Southfield, Michigan-based full-service security company, has acquired Controllor Security Systems, a long-established Metro Detroit security provider serving residential and commercial customers for more than 40 years. The acquisition expands Guardian Alarm's presence in Michigan and brings Controllor's local customers access to Guardian's broader portfolio of monitoring, video surveillance, access control and life-safety services.

Gloo, a technology platform for faith and mission-driven organizations, has completed the acquisition of Westfall Group, Inc., bringing Westfall Gold, Brain Trust Creative, and Parable Talent into Gloo’s donor engagement and fundraising stack. Westfall Group will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary and its founder Bob Westfall will remain CEO, expanding Gloo’s capability to deliver full-lifecycle, data-driven donor development solutions to nonprofits and ministries.

Gryphon Investors has acquired Safety Management Group (SMG) from NMS Capital; financial terms were not disclosed. SMG, headquartered in Indianapolis, will serve as a new platform for Gryphon to pursue organic growth and add-on M&A in outsourced Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) services while SMG's management team remains in place with a meaningful ownership stake.

CX1 Capital Inc., a Toronto-based private equity sponsor, has completed the acquisition of Fort Myers, Florida-based SatCom Marketing (doing business as SatComCX). CX1 founder Sajan Choksi was named CEO of SatComCX and the deal is described as the first step in a buy-and-build expansion plan to modernize systems, grow the company's footprint, and create new employee opportunities.

The Leaders of Design has acquired the Decorative Furnishings Association (DFA). Financial terms were not disclosed; Leaders of Design plans to revitalize the nearly century-old nonprofit by introducing tiered membership fees, new programming, and sharing aggregated industry data from its Studio Designer platform, while appointing Rachel York as DFA executive director.

Ridgemont Equity Partners has acquired CRS, a Phoenix-based tech-enabled provider of temporary housing and managed repair solutions for insurance carriers. The senior CRS leadership will remain significantly invested alongside Ridgemont as the firm looks to scale the business and expand adjacent FNOL services.

Wolf & Company, P.C. has acquired The Kafafian Group, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based bank consulting firm, bringing the two firms together under the Wolf & Company brand to expand advisory capabilities for banks and credit unions. The combination is intended to create a more comprehensive financial-institution advisory platform covering strategy, performance measurement, regulatory assistance and related services.

Mastercam, part of the Sandvik Group, completed the acquisition of longtime channel partner Advanced Mechanical Engineering AB (AME) to establish a direct presence in Sweden and Norway. AME will operate as Mastercam Sverige, bringing local customer relationships, support capabilities, and training in-market to strengthen Mastercam's responsiveness and service delivery across the two Nordic markets.

CohnReznick acquired Minneapolis-based Smith Schafer & Associates effective January 1, 2026, marking the firm's entry into Minnesota and expanding its Midwest footprint. Smith Schafer brings three local offices, 12 partners and 89 employees, and expertise across professional services firms, construction, manufacturing, and transportation to strengthen CohnReznick's advisory, assurance, and tax capabilities.

PKF O'Connor Davies announced that Wolf Maryles & Associates will join the firm effective January 1, 2026. The integration adds a team of 11 professionals to PKF O'Connor Davies' New York City office and expands the firm's private client tax and wealth advisory capabilities, building on a recent strategic growth investment from Investcorp and PSP Investments.