Professional Services Acquisitions in 2021

AnswerNet, a Willow Grove, Pennsylvania-based BPO and call center services provider, acquired Quality Contact Solutions (QCS) and its subsidiary QCS At Home, with the deal finalized December 31, 2021. The acquisition strengthens AnswerNet’s telemarketing, outbound/inbound and compliance capabilities; AnswerNet retained QCS employees and appointed Chris Grothe to oversee the business.

Fusion (a global BPO and contact-center services provider) acquired Advanced Communications Group Inc. (ACG), a Boynton Beach, Florida-based full-service BPO/contact-center provider, effective December 31, 2021. The acquisition (ACG's ~250 employees) strengthens Fusion's presence in the United States and expands its telecom and tech-support BPO capabilities.

Firstsource Solutions Limited has agreed to acquire American Recovery Services, Inc. (ARSI), a nationwide legal collections network headquartered in Southern California. The acquisition adds legal-stage collections capabilities to Firstsource’s U.S. receivables management offering, strengthening its end-to-end debt recovery services for banks, financial institutions and fintech clients.

Teleperformance has acquired Senture, a US-based business process outsourcing (BPO) operator focused on government services, from Kingswood Capital Management for an enterprise value of US$400 million. Senture, headquartered in London, Kentucky, generated approximately US$192 million in revenue (2021e) and operates a network of more than 4,500 advisers (about 85% remote); the deal is intended to strengthen Teleperformance's citizen/government services vertical and expand its US capabilities.

CJK Group, Inc. has acquired Tweddle Group, a provider of product support, content development, content management, and digital/print distribution solutions. Tweddle Group, headquartered in Clinton Township, Michigan with over 500 employees worldwide, will operate under CJK leadership to expand CJK's technology and service capabilities and diversify its offerings.

Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. acquired Capital Consulting International (CCi), a global consultancy of delay, quantum and technical experts serving the insurance and construction industries. The deal expands Rimkus' international footprint across the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and augments its forensic engineering and construction-claims capabilities.

Lexitas, a technology‑enabled legal support services provider and portfolio company of funds advised by Apax, has acquired TaylorMorse, a medical record retrieval firm headquartered in Laguna Hills, California. The acquisition expands Lexitas’ record retrieval capabilities and strengthens its presence in the West Coast civil litigation market.

An affiliate of Peak Rock Capital has completed the acquisition of Xenon arc Inc., a Bellevue, Washington–based technology‑enabled services provider for food & beverage, industrial and chemical manufacturers. Peak Rock will partner with Xenon arc's management team to accelerate growth through investments in technology, service capability expansion and complementary add‑on acquisitions to expand geographic coverage.

Eliassen Group, a Reading, Massachusetts-based strategic consulting and talent solutions firm, has acquired Fidato Partners, an accounting & finance, risk management, and IT consulting firm headquartered in the greater Philadelphia area. The acquisition expands Eliassen Group’s professional services capabilities—particularly in risk management, finance transformation, and technical accounting—and brings Fidato’s consulting and recruiting capabilities into Eliassen’s platform.

Pye-Barker Fire & Safety has acquired Yarnell Security Systems, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based commercial and residential security services provider. The deal adds Yarnell's 47 employees and more than 10,000 customers to Pye-Barker's national fire, life-safety and security platform and strengthens its CCTV, access control and alarm monitoring capabilities in central Pennsylvania.

Hanover Investors has acquired eCOGRA, an independent testing and certification agency serving the online gambling industry, via Hanover Active Equity Fund II. The deal (consideration undisclosed) is supported by debt from Investec Growth & Leveraged Finance and is intended to accelerate eCOGRA's geographic expansion—particularly into the United States—and strengthen its commercial capabilities.

LoneTree, a New York-based growth capital firm, announced a significant growth investment in Safety Plus, a Mobile, Alabama-based provider of safety management, contractor management, and compliance software and services. The investment will fund strategic growth initiatives, platform innovation, and enable Safety Plus to pursue strategic M&A while supporting continued headcount and customer growth.

Consilio has acquired Legility from private equity firm Gridiron Capital, combining Consilio's global eDiscovery and legal consulting platform with Legility's technology-enabled legal services, managed review, and flexible legal talent capabilities. The deal expands Consilio's enterprise legal services, enhances its European footprint, and integrates Legility's talent and technology into Consilio's Complete suite of solutions.

Workiva Inc. has acquired AuditNet, a global provider of audit content, tools and a digital community used by more than 160,000 audit practitioners. The acquisition (terms not disclosed) will integrate AuditNet’s content into the Workiva platform and Workiva Marketplace to strengthen the company’s GRC and audit offerings.

Strattam Capital (a private equity firm) invested in Action Title Research, a technology-driven title research and public-records analytics provider, in a transaction announced December 2021. The investment (reported as a $30 million capital commitment by Strattam) is intended to accelerate growth, expand capabilities and support a roll-up/add-on acquisition strategy for Action Title Research.

Italian product-information specialist STAR7 S.p.A. has acquired LocalEyes, an Ireland-based translation and localization firm. The deal, facilitated by M&A advisor ITX, brings LocalEyes’ content-localization capabilities and 150 employees (12 European offices plus San Francisco) into STAR7’s global product-information services platform.

Kelso (Kelso Fund X) completed the acquisition of ReSource Pro on December 10, 2021 from DFW Capital Partners, providing a liquidity exit for DFW. ReSource Pro is a New York–headquartered provider of outsourced business process management, analytics and managed services to insurance carriers, brokers, MGAs and TPAs, with more than 5,000 employees globally. The transaction is a PE buyout that positions Kelso to grow the company’s insurance-focused BPO and technology-enabled services.

The Riverside Company has acquired milliCare, a commercial floor and textile care franchise brand, from Milliken & Company as an add-on to Riverside’s Clintar platform. The transition transfers more than 30 franchise owners and roughly 40 locations to Riverside’s portfolio while Milliken will continue to manufacture and supply milliCare’s proprietary cleaning solutions.

Foreside Financial Group has acquired Alaric Compliance Services to bolster its governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) capabilities across broker-dealer, alternatives, mutual fund, private credit, and ETF compliance practices. Alaric, founded in 2004 and led by Guy F. Talarico, brings specialized regulatory and compliance expertise for asset managers and broker-dealers.

Astrix has acquired ResultWorks, integrating ResultWorks’ business analysis and transformation capabilities into Astrix’s life-science-focused professional and staffing services. ResultWorks will operate as a new Astrix business unit to expand Astrix’s strategic planning, laboratory informatics, digital data management, and change-management offerings for life sciences and other science-based organizations.

Iron Creek Partners led a recapitalization of Midwest Backgrounds, Inc. (MBI Worldwide) in a transaction that closed in September 2021, with participation from MBI's management team and Main Street Capital Corporation. The investment provides growth capital to support MBI's expansion of its employment background screening and consumer reporting services; financial terms were not disclosed.

IK Partners’ Small Cap III Fund has acquired DA Languages Ltd (DAL) from Foresight Group. IK will partner with management (who are reinvesting) to scale the Manchester-based language services provider organically and via add-on acquisitions, with a focus on investing in DAL’s technology-enabled interpreting and translation offering.

Funds managed by New York-based private equity firm Lee Equity Partners acquired a majority ownership interest in Unlimited Technology, a Chester Springs, Pennsylvania-based security systems integrator. Management, led by John Palumbo (who will become CEO), will retain meaningful equity; former majority shareholder Richard Rockwell is retiring. Financial terms were not disclosed; Lee Equity said it will support Unlimited Technology’s organic and acquisition-driven growth and geographic/service expansion.

OMNIA Partners has acquired PAS Purchasing Solutions and Buyers Access, consolidating two leading group purchasing organizations (GPOs) serving the multi-family housing industry. The deal brings PAS and Buyers Access into OMNIA Partners’ procurement portfolio to expand its multi-family housing offering and enhance buying power for property owners and operators nationwide.

Funds advised by Further Global Capital Management have made a growth investment in E78 Partners, a Chicago-based provider of finance, accounting and technology solutions to the private capital industry. The investment will provide capital to accelerate E78's growth, expand its service offering and geographic footprint and support its M&A strategy; E78 management and employees will retain meaningful equity stakes.

Reverence Capital Partners, a private investment firm, has acquired CRS Temporary Housing from GenNx360 Capital Partners. CRS is a tech-enabled provider of temporary housing and relocation solutions for insurance carriers; terms were not disclosed and GenNx360 said the sale represents a portfolio realization from Fund II.

Troon, the Scottsdale-based leader in golf and club hospitality management, has acquired Peter Burwash International (PBI), a global tennis management and instruction company. The deal brings PBI's portfolio of more than 30 properties into Troon's racquet sports division and combines PBI with Troon's existing Cliff Drysdale Tennis business to create the world's largest third-party racquet sports operator.

West Monroe has acquired Carbon Five, a product management, digital design, and software engineering firm, to expand its end-to-end digital product development capabilities. The deal adds nearly 100 designers, product managers, and engineers and complements West Monroe's recent acquisition of Verys as it builds a global product development platform.

Shepley Bulfinch, a national architecture firm headquartered in Boston, has acquired PARC design lab, a boutique architecture practice based in Durham, North Carolina. The acquisition expands Shepley's science and technology design capabilities and establishes a physical presence in the Research Triangle; PARC co-founders Jeffery Bottomley and John Jarvis will join Shepley in leadership roles.

Sunstone Partners, a growth-oriented private equity firm, made a strategic growth investment in Vcheck Global to accelerate the development of its technology platform and expand delivery capabilities for background check and due diligence services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Arise Virtual Solutions has acquired Officium Labs to expand its CX design, transformation and BPO capabilities by integrating Officium's CX Maturity Model and services. The deal combines Officium's experience in Gaming and Logistics with Arise's Gig-CX platform and 70,000+ Service Partner network to accelerate CX innovation and deliver broader managed and tech-enabled CX offerings to enterprise brands.

Urbanimmersive Inc. acquired all outstanding shares of Agence Immophoto Inc. for a total purchase price of $500,000 (cash and shares) and also purchased the intangible assets of Mexican photography business Tours Virtuales for $22,000. The transactions expand Urbanimmersive’s real estate photography service footprint in Quebec and Mexico and bolster its offering of subscription-based 3D marketing and photography solutions.

Sedgwick has acquired Temporary Accommodations, a provider of temporary housing and related services for displaced insurance policyholders. The acquisition brings Temporary Accommodations into Sedgwick's Property Americas division to expand Sedgwick's end-to-end property claims capabilities, including temporary housing and additional living expense management.

Global consulting firm J.S. Held has acquired substantially all of the assets of IPFC Corp., a Houston-based forensic accounting and valuation consultancy. The deal expands J.S. Held's Financial Investigations Division and strengthens its capabilities in intellectual property valuations, economic damages, and expert testimony services.

IQ-EQ, the investor services group, has acquired Greyline Partners, a U.S.-based governance and regulatory compliance provider. The deal expands IQ-EQ's U.S. capabilities and footprint—Greyline brings ~56 employees across six offices and complementary outsourced compliance, middle-office and finance services to IQ-EQ's alternative-asset client base.

Mitie has acquired Esoteric Limited, a UK specialist in counter-espionage and Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), and will integrate its team into Mitie Security to strengthen the company’s security intelligence and counter-surveillance capabilities. Esoteric founder Emma Shaw will join Mitie Security to lead intelligence security operations, and Mitie will combine Esoteric’s services with its Merlin 24/7 platform to deliver remote monitoring and real-time insights.

Accenture has acquired Founders Intelligence, a London-based innovation strategy consulting firm, to strengthen its innovation practice and help clients scale new business models. The Founders Intelligence team of 35 professionals will join Accenture's Innovation practice; terms were not disclosed.

LegalZoom (NASDAQ: LZ) acquired Earth Class Mail, a virtual mailbox and mail digitization provider, to expand its subscription services for small businesses. The acquisition adds virtual mailbox, mail-scanning and API-enabled document management capabilities to LegalZoom’s platform to streamline operations for small-business customers.

TechnoMile, a provider of cloud solutions for government sales, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bid2Win Consulting, a strategic advisory and capture management firm. The acquisition adds seasoned business development and capture strategists to TechnoMile’s offerings, expanding its capabilities to provide strategic advisory services alongside its Growth Suite capture management technology.

Five Star Franchising launched as a consolidated platform after acquiring franchisor brands Bath Solutions, Joe Homebuyer, Gotcha Covered, and Bio-One, bringing roughly 300 franchise owners and 350 territories into its ecosystem. The platform is backed by private equity sponsor Princeton Equity Group and will leverage ProNexis and centralized marketing, technology, and operations to drive franchise development and growth across home-service categories.

Funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) have agreed to acquire Tricor Group from Permira in a transaction that values Tricor at an enterprise value of $2.76 billion. The deal, expected to close in H1 2022 subject to regulatory approvals, gives BPEA a platform to support Tricor’s continued growth across Asia; Tricor serves ~50,000 clients with roughly 2,800 employees across 21 markets.

Bionic Group has acquired BusinessComparison, a Chester-based comparison platform for UK SMEs, subject to FCA approval. The bolt-on deal—Bionic’s fifth since ECI Partners backed the group in 2017—adds BusinessComparison’s technology and digital marketing capability to Bionic’s SME comparison platform; the founder Philip Brennan will continue to run the business under Bionic.

Private equity firm Blackford Capital, through its Boston Trade Interior Solutions platform, has acquired Greensboro, N.C.-based interior design and FF&E procurement firm ID Collaborative Inc. The add-on deal expands Boston Trade's capabilities and footprint—particularly in the senior living and healthcare end markets—and furthers Blackford's consolidation strategy in commercial interior design and procurement.

BV Investment Partners has made a significant strategic growth investment in Ubiquity, a New York–headquartered business process outsourcer and customer experience provider, valuing the company at more than $325 million pre-money. As part of the transaction Ubiquity will divest its majority interest in Aigent but remain a shareholder; the capital will be used to accelerate Ubiquity's growth and expand its position in tech-enabled BPO and CX services.

VisasQ, a Tokyo-listed knowledge platform, has acquired US-based expert network Coleman Research Group, Inc. for $103,350,000. The acquisition expands VisasQ’s global expert network and client footprint—creating a combined network of roughly 400,000 experts and broader geographic presence across the U.S., Japan and other markets; Canaccord Genuity served as exclusive financial advisor to Coleman.

Audax Private Equity has agreed to make a minority growth investment in Stout alongside the firm’s employee shareholders, with existing shareholders retaining a meaningful equity stake and management continuing to lead. The capital will support Stout’s future growth initiatives, including pursuing strategic add-on acquisitions; the transaction was expected to close in Q4 2021.

Alera Group, a national insurance and wealth management firm, has acquired Blue Communications, an HR consulting and internal communications agency headquartered in Hollywood, California, and Bagwell & Bagwell Insurance, a Raleigh, North Carolina property and casualty agency. The deals expand Alera's HR consulting, communications and insurance capabilities and extend its nationwide footprint; terms were not disclosed.

Korn Ferry has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lucas Group, a professional search and contract staffing firm headquartered in Atlanta. The transaction, expected to close on November 1, will expand Korn Ferry’s professional search and contract staffing capabilities; terms were not disclosed and the deal is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has acquired PwC's Global Mobility Tax and Immigration Services business in a carve-out that will operate as Vialto Partners. The standalone company will serve multinational clients with immigration, tax, managed services, payroll and digital solutions, leveraging CD&R capital to accelerate technology investment and global expansion; the business comprises roughly 5,700–6,000 professionals.

Dunbar Security Solutions has acquired all assets of Integrity Systems, Inc., adding security system installation and service capabilities across the Washington, D.C. metro market. The acquisition expands Dunbar's local installation footprint and customer base in the Mid-Atlantic while bringing Integrity's technicians and infrastructure into Dunbar's Greenbelt, Maryland and Sterling, Virginia branch operations.