Guidehouse to acquire Grant Thornton's public sector arm

Guidehouse is making another move to expand its government business by acquiring the public sector advisory group of Grant Thornton, a consulting and professional services firm like the buyer.

Terms of the transaction announced Monday were not disclosed. Grant Thornton's public sector practice works with federal, state and local government agencies across areas such as finance, IT, data analytics and performance management.

All parties involved expect to close the transaction by the end of this year.

Led by CEO Scott McIntyre, Guidehouse has now made three acquisitions since the business was itself acquired in 2018 by private equity firm Veritas Capital from then-parent PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In a way, the acquisition of Grant Thornton's government arm mirrors the one that turned the former PwC public sector practice into what the market knows today as Guidehouse.

“This transaction aligns to our strategy to expand expertise and capabilities in support of our clients’ most pressing challenges," McIntyre said in a release. "With this strategic combination, we anticipate experiencing opportunities for both significant growth and advancement for our colleagues.”

Grant Thornton does not disclose its financials, but figures from USASpending.gov indicate the firm has received approximately $238.7 million in unclassified prime contract obligations over the previous 12 months.

The Homeland Security, Defense and State departments made up for 53% of that share.

McLean, Virginia-headquartered Guidehouse nearly tripled in size one year after its launch through the acquisition of consulting firm Navigant. Guidehouse sought greater footholds in certain highly-regulated commercial industries such as health care, energy and financial services.

Last year saw Guidehouse purchased Dovel Technologies to further build out IT capabilities and particularly in the health and life sciences fields. Guidehouse touted that transaction as turning the company into one with around $2 billion in annual revenue and nearly 13,000 employees around the world.

Milbank and Covington are acting as legal counsel to Guidehouse and Veritas. Deutsche Bank is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Grant Thornton. Morrison & Foerster and Akerman are acting as legal counsel on the sell side.

Similar to PwC's rationale for selling the Guidehouse business, Grant Thornton is using the proceeds from the transaction to reinvest in its core audit and advisory services lines of business.

“Our public sector advisory colleagues are well-positioned for continued success as part of a management consultancy with a very strong presence in the government sector -- one that they know well and that will offer exciting opportunities for professional growth," Grant Thornton CEO Seth Siegel said in a release.