Professional Services Acquisitions in New York

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.

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.

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.

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.

Elevate has acquired experiential design studio Downstream and luxury hospitality design studio GA, combining the firms into an expanded Elevate Creative with more than 250 designers, technologists, and strategists across North America, Europe, and Asia. The deal broadens Elevate's capabilities in immersive digital experiences and luxury hospitality design and appoints Chris Allphin as President of Elevate Creative.

Prosperity Partners, a Chicago-based tax and accounting platform backed by Unity Partners LP, has completed the addition of New York-based Farkouh, Furman & Faccio (FF&F). The deal brings FF&F's seven partners and 38 employees into Prosperity, establishing a New York City flagship office and adding audit and international tax capabilities to Prosperity's platform.

Harbor, the Chicago-based legal technology and consulting firm, has acquired Encoretech, a U.S.-based training and user adoption services provider for law firms and corporate legal departments. The deal — Harbor's first since a majority investment from BayPine LP — adds Encoretech's Training-as-a-Service capabilities (about 80 professionals across the U.S. and Europe) to Harbor's Legal Technology + Operations practice to accelerate technology adoption and AI enablement for clients.

Dallas-based architecture and design firm Corgan has acquired New York–based Cooper Robertson. Terms were not disclosed; Cooper Robertson’s team and client relationships will integrate into Corgan to deepen its presence in the Northeast and expand capabilities across higher education, civic, and cultural design markets.

Capgemini S.E. has completed the acquisition of WNS (Holdings) Limited for $76.50 per share, representing total cash consideration of $3.3 billion (excluding WNS net financial debt). The purchase brings WNS' ~66,085 professionals and industry-focused BPO, analytics and managed services capabilities into Capgemini to create a global leader in intelligent operations and AI-enabled business transformation.

F2 Strategy, a Chicago-based wealth and asset management consulting and technology services firm, has acquired HBMJ Consulting LLC, a boutique New York‑area advisory firm specializing in operations, data intelligence and technology transformation for hedge funds and alternative investment managers. The 18‑member HBMJ team will join F2 as the company expands its asset management capabilities and builds a unified alternative investments vertical; F2 is a portfolio company of Renovus Capital Partners.

Frontenac has recapitalized Beckway, a New York-based professional services firm that provides operational, performance improvement and financial solutions to private equity-backed and corporate clients. The transaction, completed in partnership with Beckway’s co-founders and management and with Shvetank Shah joining as Chairman, will fund team investment, organic growth and the firm’s M&A ambitions; Monroe Capital provided the senior financing and Clearsight Advisors advised Beckway.

Graphite Financial, a finance, tax and accounting provider for venture-backed startups, has acquired Furey, a scalable accounting, finance and payroll services firm built for startups. The acquisition expands Graphite's service capabilities, client base and geographic presence and is supported by Graphite's investor Red Iron Group.

The Riverside Company has acquired Accurate Fire Equipment, a Franklin Square, New York provider of fire and life safety (FLS) services, as an add-on to its Relay Fire and Safety platform. The deal expands Relay's presence in the New York City metropolitan area and aims to drive growth through cross-selling, investments in sales and marketing, and enhanced technician training.

Leading international law firms McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel completed a merger effective August 1, launching the combined firm McDermott Will & Schulte. The combination creates a global legal platform with roughly 1,750+ attorneys across 20+ offices and expanded capabilities across healthcare, private capital, tax, litigation and regulatory services, with reported annual revenue of roughly $3 billion.

Egon Zehnder has acquired The Prince Houston Group, a boutique New York executive search firm specializing in asset and wealth management. The deal integrates The Prince Houston Group’s specialized team into Egon Zehnder’s global leadership advisory platform to strengthen its U.S. financial services practice and expand capabilities in asset and wealth management recruitment.

Allied Universal has acquired Mulligan Security (including MG Security Services) from Security Services Holdings LLC (Protos) and Southfield Capital; the transaction closed on July 3, 2025. The divestiture enables Protos to refocus investment and resources on its tech-enabled managed services platform.

Tern has acquired Lucia, a workforce platform that provides vetted CoPilots and support services for travel advisors. Lucia’s team will join Tern and founder Grace Van Hollebeke will become Head of Marketing and Services as Tern integrates Lucia’s hands-on support into its advisor platform to improve onboarding, automation, and ongoing advisor services.

Slingshot Insights has acquired Noble Insights to broaden its expert network and expand sector coverage beyond its healthcare roots. The deal combines Noble's curated global expert roster and Slingshot's cost-sharing transcript library and platform capabilities, with Noble founder Michael Wolin joining Slingshot as President of Business Development.

PSST, a PennSpring Capital-backed provider of integration and compliance solutions for K‑12 and other organizations, has acquired Paragon Compliance, a provider of ACA compliance and consulting services that serves schools, municipalities and private employers with emphasis in New York, Ohio and Connecticut. The deal establishes PSST as a platform for complementary add-on acquisitions to consolidate ACA compliance capabilities and expand service reach.

First Legal has acquired Inter County Judicial Services (IJS), a New York–based process-serving and litigation support provider, expanding First Legal's court & process services footprint in the New York market. The deal strengthens First Legal's ability to deliver end-to-end litigation support — including service of process, court filing, court reporting, eDiscovery and records retrieval — to leading law firms and corporate legal departments.

Law Business Research (LBR) and ALM have merged to form a combined global legal intelligence and information services group, bringing together LBR's UK/global presence and ALM's deep US market penetration. The combined business will continue existing products and services, employ more than 900 people across offices in New York, London, Washington DC, Erlanger, Philadelphia, Austin and Hong Kong, and will be led by Nick Brailey as Group CEO.

Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP have made the first institutional, strategic growth investment in CohnReznick LLP. The capital will support CohnReznick’s growth plan—expanding service lines, advancing its technology platform, pursuing targeted acquisitions, and accelerating geographic and talent investments.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) has completed the acquisition of Williams Lea, a global provider of tech-enabled business services for financial, legal and professional services firms. Williams Lea will join RRD's Digital, Creative and Business Services segment to strengthen RRD's digital marketing, full‑funnel media and business services capabilities; Williams Lea serves clients across ~20 countries and has roughly 7,000 employees worldwide.

Signal Hill Equity Partners has invested in CSArch, a New York-based architecture, engineering and design firm, to establish a national architecture and engineering platform as the first investment from Signal Hill Fund IV. CSArch’s leadership will remain in place and Signal Hill plans to support geographic expansion and platform diversification through future add-on acquisitions.

Marshall & Stevens, an independent valuation advisory and litigation support firm based in Los Angeles, has acquired Equitable Value, LLC, a Clifton Park, New York valuation and expert witness practice. The deal expands Marshall & Stevens' New York presence and adds Equitable Value’s matrimonial accounting, litigation support, and expert witness capabilities to the firm's service offering.

HomeSquare, LLC (dba HomeSquarePro) has acquired Palace Guards, a residential concierge services provider based in Eastchester, New York. The add-on strengthens HomeSquarePro's presence in the NY Tri-State region (Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT) and expands its high-end residential service offerings.

Rago Wright has acquired Poster Auctions International (PAI), adding the leading independent vintage poster auction house to its network of auction businesses. Jack Rennert, PAI's founder and president, will join Rago Wright as a partner to ensure continuity, and future PAI auctions will run on Rago Wright's auction platform as the combined organization expands its offerings to consignors and buyers.

ZRG Partners, a global talent advisory firm and portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners, has acquired Jamesbeck, a New York City-based executive recruitment firm specializing in senior-level talent for the investment management community. The deal expands ZRG's asset management capabilities and complements its private markets work; Jamesbeck co-founders Melissa Norris and Beth Rustin will become co-heads of asset management search at ZRG.

Everlane Equity Partners has made a platform investment in Carey & Co., a New York–based professional services firm that provides outsourced financial leadership, HR, and interim executive management to nonprofit organizations. The capital will be used to expand Carey & Co.'s service offerings and scale operations while partnering with the existing management team to grow the business nationally.

Miami-based private equity firm Trivest Partners has made a non-control growth investment in Dubin Research & Consulting (DRC), a New York–based trial consulting and litigation advisory firm. The capital from Trivest's Trivest Growth Investment Fund II will support DRC's organic and inorganic growth while allowing the founder-led management team to retain control.

InteleTravel, an integrated travel distribution group, has acquired MGME (McVeigh Global Meetings & Events). MGME will remain an independent brand as a wholly owned unit of InteleTravel and will collaborate with InteleTravel and Hickory Global Partners to expand event offerings, consolidate supplier contracts, and leverage booking technology and cruise charter capabilities to develop event-at-sea and other combined services.

Hilton Global Associates Inc. has acquired Investigative Due Diligence Group LLC (IDD Group), a New York City–based investigative due diligence firm that serves private equity groups and law firms. The founders of IDD Group join Hilton Global as partners, strengthening Hilton Global's investigative due diligence capabilities and expanding its client-facing team and sector expertise.

Kaltroco, a private investment company backed by the family of Steve Koltes, has made a minority growth investment in The Dave Cantin Group (DCG), a New York–based M&A advisory firm focused on automotive retail and related sectors. The capital will support DCG's expansion into adjacent verticals (motorcycle, RV, powersports, heavy truck), broader geographic coverage, and new advisory service offerings; financial terms were not disclosed.

Red Iron Group, a Menlo Park-based private investment firm, made a significant growth investment in hiline Services, a Syracuse-based provider of financial operations-as-a-service. The capital will support hiline's organic growth, expand its hilineOS technology and enable strategic acquisitions while the company's co-founder and management team remain shareholders.

Michael Baker International has acquired Tidal Basin, a leading emergency and disaster management consulting firm. The acquisition will allow Michael Baker to expand its preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery and program management capabilities and strengthen its service offering to federal, state and local clients on resiliency and post-disaster recovery projects.

Doyle Security Systems, a Rochester, New York–based provider of residential and commercial security and monitoring services, has acquired AMS Security Plus, a privately held Albany, New York security company. AMS’ accounts will be migrated to Doyle’s on-site Emergency Response Center; AMS CEO Don Simpson will remain with the business for at least one year as Doyle expands its Upstate New York presence.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) has completed the acquisition of Buck, a New York–headquartered provider of retirement plan consulting, health & welfare consulting, employee communications, and technology-enabled benefits administration services. The transaction represents H.I.G. Capital's exit after acquiring Buck in 2018 and supporting growth through strategic initiatives and add-on acquisitions.

Cor Partners, the Atlanta-based parent company of insurance and forensic services businesses (backed by BW Forsyth Partners), has acquired DBI Construction Consultants, a New York–based provider of building and construction consulting and loss/damage measurement services. The acquisition will form a new division within the Cor Partners family and combines DBI with existing Envista Forensics building consulting resources to expand capabilities, coverage and service offerings to insurance and legal clients.

BWG Strategy, a subscription-based primary research platform backed by Infinedi Partners, has acquired OTR Global, a long-standing provider of interview-based channel and primary research for institutional investors. The deal expands BWG's research product breadth, global reach and subscription content offerings for asset managers, hedge funds and other institutional clients.

S2Verify, a U.S. background-screening firm based in the Atlanta area, has acquired New York-based Yale Background Screening (Yale Associates, Inc.), bringing Yale's clients and team into S2Verify and materially increasing the combined firm's scale. The acquisition expands S2Verify's market position and capabilities—adding hundreds of clients across pharmaceutical, healthcare, automotive, and financial services—and is described as effectively doubling the firm's size overnight.

Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC has acquired the nonattest business of New York-based Berdon LLP, adding approximately $110 million in revenue and ~450 partners and associates. The combined firm will have annual revenue exceeding $600 million and a team of over 2,400 professionals, expanding Citrin Cooperman's capabilities across real estate, construction, family office, and manufacturing & distribution clients.

InnovateMR, a Calabasas-based market research technology and sampling firm, has acquired Ivy Exec, a New York–based qualitative B2B expert network, for an undisclosed amount. The deal expands InnovateMR's qualitative research capabilities and access to a curated global expert network while Ivy Exec founder Elena Bajic will remain and become President of Ivy Exec; CIVC Partners, InnovateMR's PE backer, said the acquisition bolsters the platform's combined qualitative and quantitative offering.

Boathouse Capital completed a growth investment in Glamsquad, the on-demand digital platform connecting customers with vetted beauty professionals. The capital—provided alongside current owner JMB Capital—will be used to accelerate nationwide expansion, expand marketing and channel partnerships, and explore additional service offerings.

Velocity Print, a northeast-based print-on-demand and direct mail services provider, announced it has acquired The Bajan Group, Inc., a New York-based print distributor and print management company. The deal brings Bajan's team and client relationships into Velocity to expand product offerings, strengthen fulfillment and mailing capabilities, and grow Velocity's client base across multiple states.

Streetsense has acquired Pure Grey, a boutique restaurant and bar consultancy known for food & beverage operations and concept development. The deal brings Pure Grey’s hospitality expertise and leadership (including Ed Viita as Managing Director of Hospitality) into Streetsense’s Eat & Drink studio to expand the firm’s hospitality and operations capabilities globally.

Keypoint Intelligence has acquired Karstedt Partners, LLC, a packaging supply-chain and digital package printing consultancy based in Eden, New York. The acquisition will accelerate Keypoint Intelligence's product development and expand its research, consulting and market-insight capabilities across the packaging, labels and digital printing markets.

Protos Security (a portfolio company of Southfield Capital) has acquired MG Security Services, a New York City–based provider of armed and unarmed security guard services, crisis management, fraud prevention and private investigations. The add-on expands Protos' East Coast footprint, scales its direct guard operations (MG employs over 1,200 guards) and furthers growth in end markets such as healthcare and commercial real estate.

Allied Universal has acquired three security firms — International Protective Service Agency (New York, NY), CQB Beveiliging B.V. (Eindhoven, Netherlands) and Kronjyllands Vagtservice A/S (Denmark) — expanding its patrol, response and event security capabilities across North America and Europe. The largest deal, IPSA, brings roughly 350 employees into Allied Universal; the European tuck-ins will bolster scale and density for Allied Universal’s international business, G4S.

Bertram Capital has partnered with Cogency Global CEO Bruce Jacobi and members of management to acquire Cogency Global Inc., a New York–based provider of registered agent, corporate compliance and transactional legal support services. The investment (the seventh from Bertram's fourth fund) will support service-line and geographic expansion and pursue accretive add-on acquisitions; terms were not disclosed.

Vino Vault has acquired the New York Wine Storage Company in Long Island City, marking its first expansion outside California and its fourth acquisition in 12 months. The deal transfers ownership from founder Geoffrey Troy while Troy and his team will continue operating the New York Wine Warehouse retail business and support the transition.