Consulting Acquisitions in 2022

Cherry Bekaert has acquired Treacy & Company, a boutique growth and innovation consulting firm with offices in Boston and Chicago, to expand its strategy, innovation and digital advisory capabilities. The deal broadens Cherry Bekaert’s geographic footprint in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. and strengthens its industry depth across consumer products, manufacturing, automotive and healthcare.

Mid-market private equity firm LDC has made a growth investment in scarlettabbott, the UK employee engagement and internal communications consultancy co‑founded by Jonathan Abbott and Rachel Thornton. The founders move to Non-Executive Director roles while LDC will back CEO Jeremy Petty and the management team to invest in products, services and people and accelerate growth, with a target to double headcount within five years.

Ryan, a global tax services and software provider, has acquired Kane, McKenna and Associates, Inc. (KMA), a Chicago-based economic development and public finance advisory firm. The acquisition adds eight professionals, including founding partner Phil McKenna, and strengthens Ryan's Credits and Incentives practice by expanding its tax increment financing (TIF) capabilities and footprint in Illinois.

Investcorp, together with Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), acquired a majority stake in CrossCountry Consulting in a recapitalization transaction; RLH Equity Partners reinvested and CrossCountry founders remain significant shareholders. The capital injection is intended to accelerate CrossCountry's geographic expansion, broaden service offerings (including technology-enabled advisory and cybersecurity), and support add-on acquisitions.

Charles River Associates (CRA) acquired substantially all assets of bioStrategies Group, a Chicago-based life sciences commercial strategy consulting firm, and retained 17 employees. The deal expands CRA's Life Sciences Practice capabilities and geographic presence by adding experienced consultants including Mike Kaestle and Chris Schneider.

The Riverside Company, through its portfolio company OutSolve LLC, has acquired First Advantage Consulting Firm, LLC as the first add-on to OutSolve since Riverside’s October 2022 acquisition of the platform. The deal expands OutSolve’s affirmative action and OFCCP compliance capabilities, adding scale in AAP services and enabling broader offerings in pay equity, DE&I and ESG.

Good Leadership Enterprises, a Minneapolis-based leadership development firm, has acquired Interaction Dynamics Group (IDG), a Pennsylvania-based leadership consultancy. IDG founder Kevin Sensenig joins Good Leadership as the firm's first-ever president to lead marketing, new client acquisition and leadership development delivery.

Aspirent, a Summit Park portfolio company, has acquired the Digital, Financial Services, and Real Estate consulting practices of Saxony Partners, a Dallas-based technology and consulting firm. The deal expands Aspirent's data, analytics and cloud capabilities and extends its geographic presence into the Dallas market; Saxony will retain its Yardi practice and continue operating under the Saxony Partners name.

Private equity firm Renovus Capital partnered to acquire HBR Consulting's Advisory business, effective November 10, 2022. The transaction separates the Advisory unit to operate independently with leadership led by Matt Sunderman and provides growth capital to accelerate expansion in the legal consulting market.

Houlihan Lokey has agreed to acquire Oakley Advisory, a London-based independent advisory firm focused on digital infrastructure, communications services, and cloud. The deal brings Oakley’s partners and approximately 14 financial professionals into Houlihan Lokey’s Global Technology Group to expand the firm’s digital infrastructure coverage and European advisory capabilities.

Stax LLC, a Blue Point Capital Partners–backed global strategy consulting firm, has acquired London-based AMR International to expand its presence in the U.K. and Europe. The acquisition strengthens Stax's capability in buy- and sell-side commercial due diligence across technology, media, events and information sectors and is the platform's inaugural add-on in the region.

HKA, the global consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution, has acquired TM Financial Forensics (TMF), a U.S. disputes consulting firm specializing in forensic accounting, economic damages, scheduling and expert testimony. The acquisition adds approximately 65 professionals and strengthens HKA's forensic accounting, IP damages and litigation support capabilities in the U.S.

Alliant Insurance Services has acquired FutureSense, a national HR, compensation, and organizational development consulting firm. The acquisition expands Alliant's consulting capabilities within its Employee Benefits Group and brings FutureSense's virtual, people-focused consulting team into the Alliant family; terms were not disclosed.

Sia Partners has acquired Latham BioPharm Group (LBG), a U.S.-based life sciences consulting firm of nearly 60 consultants with roughly $20m in revenue, to launch a dedicated global Life Science Consulting division. The deal expands Sia Partners' capabilities in non-dilutive funding, product development, regulatory and clinical support, and strengthens its U.S. business and global life sciences offering.

McKinsey & Company has acquired SCM Connections, a Chicago-based consultancy specializing in advanced, technology-enabled supply chain planning and Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) implementations. The acquisition expands McKinsey’s supply chain and McKinsey Digital capabilities to deliver end-to-end, technology-enabled supply chain planning transformations for clients across manufacturing and other industries.

Momentum ITSMA has acquired B2B go-to-market consultancy OneGTM to broaden its Growth Consulting capabilities. The OneGTM team will be integrated into Momentum ITSMA's Growth Consulting service line to deepen GTM expertise for B2B technology clients across Europe and the US.

Resolution Economics (a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners) has acquired Berkshire Associates, a Columbia, Maryland-based provider of outsourced affirmative action plan (AAP) consulting, EEO compliance services and related software. The deal — terms undisclosed — will keep Berkshire operating under its name with President Beth Ronnenburg remaining in place and is intended to expand ResEcon's HR compliance and AAP/service capabilities.

ACA Group, a provider of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions, has acquired Compliance Resource Partners, Inc. (CRP), a regulatory compliance advisory firm serving registered investment advisers in Colorado and across the U.S. The acquisition is intended to bolster ACA's compliance advisory capabilities and expand its roster of experienced compliance professionals; financial terms were not disclosed.

Oliver Wyman, a business of Marsh McLennan, has entered into an agreement to acquire Avascent, a specialist aerospace and defense (A&D) management consulting firm. The acquisition brings Avascent’s ~130 professionals and deep A&D, government-focused and private equity advisory capabilities into Oliver Wyman’s Transportation & Services and Private Capital practices to strengthen its sector expertise and deal/post-transaction services.

Sigma7, a Growth Catalyst Partners-backed risk information and services platform, has acquired Alaco Limited, a London-based business intelligence and strategic intelligence advisory firm, from co-founders Amy Lashinsky and Ambrose Carey. The add-on expands Sigma7’s global risk and intelligence capabilities and will see Alaco integrate with Sigma7’s group while key practice leaders remain in place.

Bridgepoint Group has made a significant investment in Belfast-headquartered consulting firm FSCom Limited (fscom) to support the company's planned expansion across new markets and services. The partnership will fund growth into areas including cyber security, managed services, regulatory technology and ESG solutions as fscom aims to double in size over the next three years; terms were not disclosed.

Bridges Sustainable Growth Funds has made a majority investment in Evora Global, a UK-based ESG real estate consultancy and software provider. MSCI and Farview Equity Partners also participated in the round and will take board seats; the capital will be used to scale Evora's advisory services and its SIERA sustainability software internationally.

Crownpeak has acquired ilumino, a digital accessibility services and consulting firm, to expand its automated accessibility scanning technology with ilumino's subject-matter expertise. The acquisition (terms not disclosed) integrates ilumino's accessibility consulting and managed-services capabilities into Crownpeak's cloud-native Digital Experience Platform to better serve enterprise customers across business services, insurance, and CPG.

Stout acquired The Claro Group, LLC, a financial, economic, and management consulting firm, adding a team of 92 professionals and expanded capabilities in insurance claims, economic consulting, and restructuring. The transaction became effective October 1, 2022 and represents Stout's fourth acquisition since Audax Private Equity invested in the firm.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has acquired Linkage, Inc., a U.S.-based leadership development firm focused on advancing women and accelerating inclusion. The deal expands SHRM’s capabilities to offer research-driven leadership development, data insights, and learning programs to its global membership base.

Point B, a Seattle-based global consulting firm, has acquired Sustainable Business Consulting (SBC), an ESG-focused sustainability consultancy founded in Seattle in 2004. The acquisition expands Point B’s ESG capabilities across climate action, supply chain risk, ESG reporting, regulatory compliance and integrated strategy, and brings SBC’s talent and client relationships into Point B’s ESG practice.

ITA Group, a global corporate engagement firm based in West Des Moines, acquired London-based experiential learning and employee engagement company NKD. The acquisition adds NKD's in-person, virtual and digital learning capabilities to ITA Group's suite of employee engagement, leadership development and communications services, expanding the firm's global learning and in-country support.

Belcan, a global engineering and digital solutions provider backed by AE Industrial Partners, has acquired RTM Consulting, a Cincinnati-based provider of resource and workforce management, digital transformation, and professional education services. The deal — terms undisclosed — is an add-on to Belcan's capabilities and will help the company expand its resource-management and service-delivery offerings across Belcan's customer base.

Red Nucleus, a Riverside-backed life sciences services platform, has acquired Jupiter Life Science Consulting, a boutique provider of market access and commercialization strategies for pharma, biotech, and medical device clients. The add-on expands Red Nucleus's commercial and market-access capabilities, bringing Jupiter's expertise in payer research, pricing and access strategy, and commercialization planning into the combined platform.

Charlesbank Capital Partners and Motive Partners have completed a majority growth investment in Accordion, a New York–based financial and technology consulting firm focused on the Office of the CFO. FFL Partners exited its investment after a nearly four-year partnership that helped Accordion scale through hires and three strategic acquisitions; financial terms were not disclosed.

Accenture plc has acquired Beacon Consulting Group, a Boston-based advisory firm serving the North American asset management industry. Beacon will join Accenture's Capital Markets practice to deepen Accenture's asset management consulting capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Accenture has acquired The Beacon Group, a Portland, Maine–based growth strategy consulting firm. Beacon's team of more than 60 growth strategy, market modeling and M&A advisory experts will join Accenture Strategy, deepening Accenture's capabilities in market modeling, targeting and inorganic-growth advisory.

Accenture has acquired Carbon Intelligence, a London-based carbon and climate change strategy consultancy, adding more than 160 sustainability and carbon experts to its global sustainability capabilities. The acquisition expands Accenture’s carbon strategy, emissions measurement and decarbonisation advisory services to help clients set and meet science-based targets.

Alexandria-based corporate reputation firm Purple Strategies completed a growth recapitalization with Boston-based private equity firm WestView Capital Partners. The transaction will provide capital to support Purple's growth while its existing leadership team remains in place; WestView partners will join the company's board.

Baker Tilly US, LLP has acquired Management Partners, a Cincinnati-based consulting firm specializing in local government advisory services, effective Oct. 1, 2022. The deal adds Management Partners' ~96 professionals and deep municipal experience to Baker Tilly's public sector practice to broaden capabilities and better serve cities, counties and special districts.

Futurum Research (The Futurum Group) has acquired a controlling interest in Wainhouse Research to combine the two firms' analyst, research, data and advisory capabilities. Wainhouse founder Marc Beattie retains a minority interest and will continue as president of Wainhouse while the firms integrate operations and expand joint research, datasets, interactive dashboards and events.

Guidehouse, a Veritas Capital portfolio company, has acquired Grant Thornton LLP’s Public Sector Advisory practice. The deal adds Grant Thornton’s federal, state and local government consulting professionals and strengthens Guidehouse’s capabilities in finance, human-capital management, IT, data analytics and performance management.

Thoughtworks has completed the acquisition of Brazil-based design consultancy Handmade Design to strengthen its customer experience (CX) and product design capabilities in Brazil. The deal — financial terms undisclosed — expands Thoughtworks' design and product offering for clients globally and reinforces its commitment to the Brazilian market.

Accenture has acquired YSC Consulting, a U.K.-headquartered leadership and CEO advisory firm, to strengthen its C-suite, board and leadership-transformation capabilities. The YSC team of more than 200 employees will join Accenture's Talent & Organization / Human Potential group; the business was acquired from Graphite Capital for undisclosed terms.

Accordion, a private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm, acquired ABACI, an ERP and EPM consultancy specializing in NetSuite and Adaptive Planning. The acquisition adds 36 professionals, expands Accordion's CFO Technology practice and establishes a formal Atlanta office to enhance ERP/EPM and finance-technology capabilities for PE-backed CFOs and portfolio companies.

Isos Capital Management acquired 4Forces Group, LLC, an advisory firm that provides outsourced and interim management services to support organic and inorganic growth strategies. The deal brings 4Forces founder Peter Cosco into Isos as Managing Director to lead the firm's expanded advisory practice and to support Isos's portfolio companies with strategic growth and execution capabilities.

E Source, a utility-focused data and solution services platform owned by Align Capital Partners, has acquired Distributed Energy Financial Group (DEFG), a utility customer research and advisory firm specializing in low‑income, equity and customer experience. The add-on expands E Source’s capabilities in energy equity and customer engagement, positioning the company as a leader in equity solutions for utilities.

Growth Capital Partners (GCP) has completed a minority growth investment in Plenitude Consulting, a UK-based financial crime risk and compliance specialist. The capital will be used to expand Plenitude’s capabilities (including Digital Assets advisory and KYC Managed Services), accelerate geographic expansion into Asia, and scale its RegTech subscription products and advisory services.

Mayfair Equity Partners has acquired Access Partnership, a London-based technology public policy advisory firm, from Mobeus Equity Partners. The transaction marks an exit for Mobeus after under three years of ownership during which Access grew from ~57 to ~120 employees and revenues increased to over £25 million.

Segal Advisors, Inc. (d/b/a Segal Marco Advisors) has acquired Milliman Inc.'s San Francisco investment consulting practice in a divestiture transaction. The move expands Segal Marco's research and consulting capabilities, increases its public-sector footprint, and adds endowments and foundations to its client roster.

Sia Partners has acquired Churchill Consulting, a Perth-based independent strategy and management consulting firm with about 45 consultants and ~AUD14–15 million in revenue. The acquisition (effective July 6, 2022) establishes Sia Partners' first office in Western Australia as part of its broader push into the Australian market and strengthens its capabilities in the energy and mining sectors.

Foster & Foster Consulting Actuaries, Inc. has acquired California-based Bartel Associates, LLC to expand its presence on the U.S. West Coast and broaden its OPEB and pension consulting capabilities. The acquisition will deepen Foster & Foster's actuarial bench and extend its health and welfare plan consulting services to Bartel's public-sector clients.

Riveron, a national business advisory firm and portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, has acquired Clermont Partners, a women‑owned ESG, investor relations, and strategic communications consultancy. The acquisition (terms not disclosed) adds a 35‑person team across Chicago and Washington, D.C., and expands Riveron's ESG and investor relations capabilities by creating a new ESG and Strategic Communications practice.

Falfurrias Capital Partners, supporting a platform built around Ballast Research, Hamilton Place Strategies, Flag Media Analytics and alva, announced the addition of New York-based Gotham Research Group. Gotham — led by Dr. Jeffrey Levine — provides custom attitudinal and behavioral research and analytics, and the deal expands the platform’s stakeholder management and research capabilities.

The Planet Group, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, has agreed to acquire Future State Consulting, a Portland-area digital mobility and technology talent consultancy. The acquisition expands Planet's technology consulting capabilities and will integrate Future State with Planet's existing technology platforms including Strive Consulting and Launch Consulting Group.