Here's the lowdown
Grant Thornton Advisors completed its $5 billion CBIZ purchase, creating a platform with more than $7 billion in annual revenue and 34,500 professionals.
CBIZ is wholly owned and its stock stopped trading, but the separate Grant Thornton LLP and CBIZ CPAs deal has not closed.
New Mountain Capital supplied more equity, and integration now must preserve the line between attest and non-attest work.
Grant Thornton just closed a $5 billion accounting deal. It still has another closing to finish.
Here's what happened. Grant Thornton Advisors bought CBIZ in an all-cash transaction with a $5 billion enterprise value. The combined platform now claims more than $7 billion in annual revenue and over 34,500 professionals across more than two dozen countries and territories.
That is enough scale to make it the fifth-largest U.S. provider of professional services, tax, and advisory offerings. CBIZ is now wholly owned by Grant Thornton Advisors, and CBIZ shares have stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The catch sits inside two words: Grant Thornton Advisors.
The biggest deal did not include every entity
Grant Thornton operates an alternative practice structure in the United States. Grant Thornton Advisors LLC provides tax and advisory work. Grant Thornton LLP is the licensed CPA firm that provides audit and assurance services.
CBIZ has a similar split. Its advisory business has now joined Grant Thornton Advisors, but CBIZ CPAs remains on a separate track.
Grant Thornton's official closing announcement says the attest transaction involving Grant Thornton LLP and CBIZ CPAs is expected to close later this year. CBIZ CPAs will remain a separate licensed public accounting firm during a transition period before an expected integration with Grant Thornton LLP.
Here is why that matters. A giant advisory deal can close while audit ownership and control still move through a different legal and regulatory lane.
A $7 billion platform changes the math
The combined platform has more than $7 billion in annual revenue. Its U.S. operation has more than $5 billion in annual domestic revenue and roughly 20,000 professionals.
Scale buys options. Grant Thornton can spread technology spending across more clients, add industry specialists, and serve companies that operate in several countries without handing work to as many outside firms.
Here's the thing: scale also raises the price of a bad integration.
Two firms can have complementary service lines and still disagree on job titles, compensation, client ownership, software, and who gets the final word. The purchase agreement solves ownership. It does not make those operating decisions disappear.
Private equity supplied more fuel
New Mountain Capital first invested in Grant Thornton Advisors in 2024. It provided additional equity for the CBIZ acquisition.
That capital has helped Grant Thornton assemble a network of aligned firms across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The firm says almost 20 aligned firms now sit on the platform.
Those firms remain separate legal entities. That detail matters because a shared brand can look like one company to a client even when contracts, liability, and professional licenses still sit in different places.
The group also plans to accelerate a previously announced $1 billion investment in artificial intelligence and advanced technology. At this size, even a small productivity gain can become a large dollar number. So can a messy rollout.
The insurance business took another path
CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services did not roll into the same combined company. It launched as an independent business backed by New Mountain Capital.
The insurance operation has more than 1,600 professionals and over $400 million in annual revenue. Separating it gives the business its own growth plan while keeping New Mountain involved on both sides of the broader transaction.
That carveout is a reminder that a $5 billion headline can hide several transactions, ownership paths, and integration calendars.
The real work starts after the press release
Grant Thornton now has to turn a large collection of firms and service lines into one client experience. That means deciding which systems survive, how referrals move, where data can be shared, and when independence rules require a wall.
For CPA firms, the most interesting part is not the ranking. It is the operating model.
The advisory platform can chase scale, capital, and technology investment. The licensed audit firms still need clear control, independence, and professional responsibility. Both sides can share a brand, but they cannot treat those duties as paperwork.
Bottom line: the $5 billion acquisition is closed. The harder integration, including the audit side, is not.
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