Consulting Acquisitions in Massachusetts

Grant Thornton Advisors LLC has acquired Stax, a global strategy consulting firm specializing in commercial due diligence, value creation and exit-planning services. The deal (supported by New Mountain Capital) adds approximately 300 Stax professionals to Grant Thornton Advisors' multinational transaction advisory platform; Blue Point Capital Partners exited the investment.

Dark Horse Consulting Group (DHCG), a global strategic and operational consulting firm focused on cell and gene therapy and biotherapeutics, has acquired Converge Consulting, LLC, a Cambridge-based life sciences consulting firm. The acquisition expands DHCG's capabilities in supply chain, manufacturing, commercial launch readiness, enterprise IT solutions, CMC, and Quality to provide broader end-to-end support across the product development lifecycle.

HR Path has acquired PredictiveHR, a U.S.-based HRIS advisory and implementation specialist known for UKG and Paylocity expertise. The deal expands HR Path's footprint in North America and strengthens its UKG implementation, post-live optimization, and managed services capabilities.

Coalesce Capital completed a majority recapitalization investment in Pearl Meyer & Partners, with Main Street Capital Corporation exiting its debt and equity investments. Pearl Meyer, a Wellesley, Massachusetts-based leader in executive compensation and leadership consulting, will partner with Coalesce to support the firm's next phase of growth.

Coalesce Capital has completed a majority growth recapitalization of executive compensation and leadership consultancy Pearl Meyer, with Pearl Meyer's management retaining a meaningful stake. The investment will support Pearl Meyer's next phase of growth through talent development, the addition of complementary capabilities and service areas, and investments to enhance client service capabilities; existing minority institutional investors have exited.

Delve, a PE-backed product innovation consultancy, has acquired Boston-based altr, a digital innovation and design firm, to expand its digital strategy and product design capabilities. The add-on strengthens Delve’s ability to deliver unified physical and digital product experiences for clients across healthcare, consumer, and enterprise markets.

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.

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.

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.

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.

NMG Consulting Inc. has acquired Chatham Partners, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based insights and strategy consultancy focused on institutional financial services. The acquisition expands NMG’s North American consulting capabilities and adds Chatham’s research and client relationships in retirement, investments and securities services to NMG’s global platform.

Blue Point Capital Partners has made a platform (growth) investment in Stax, a data- and analytics-driven strategy consulting firm, to accelerate the firm’s growth, expand offerings and geographies, and support talent recruitment. Stax, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Boston with 200+ employees, will work with Blue Point to enhance its Data & Digital, Human Capital, and M&A Execution capabilities.

Baretz+Brunelle has merged Berardi Consulting LLC into its firm, with founder Jeff Berardi joining Baretz+Brunelle as a partner. The acquisition adds legal-industry marketing and business development advisory capabilities to Baretz+Brunelle’s NewLaw practice and expands its advisory services offering to Am Law and other legal-sector clients.

Riveron, a Dallas-based business advisory firm, has acquired Winter Harbor, a Boston-based restructuring and turnaround advisory firm. The deal expands Riveron's restructuring capabilities and adds geographic presence in Boston and the greater New England market; terms were not disclosed.

Main Street Capital Corporation provided $48.8 million of financing (first‑lien senior secured term debt plus a direct equity investment) to facilitate the recapitalization of Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC, and also extended a credit facility to support the firm's growth. The transaction was completed in partnership with Pearl Meyer’s management team and senior consultants to provide liquidity and working capital for future initiatives.

Huron (NASDAQ: HURN) entered into an agreement to acquire Innosight Holdings LLC, a growth strategy firm, for $100 million plus contingent consideration, combining Huron’s execution capabilities with Innosight’s strategy expertise to offer end-to-end transformation services. The acquisition expands Huron’s strategy and innovation capabilities across industries including healthcare, financial services and manufacturing; Innosight (more than 90 employees at announcement) will be included in Huron’s Business Advisory segment.