Sikich LLC, a Top 50 Firm based in Chicago, has snagged a $250 million minority investment from private equity firm Bain Capital to fund further acquisitions and growth, becoming the latest in a series of firms to score PE money.
Sikich will be maintaining majority control of the firm and its existing executive and leadership teams, including CEO Christopher Geier, who has been in charge of the firm since 2017.
Sikich dates back to 1982 and has traditionally been very active in doing mergers and acquisitions. Since Geier took the helm, Sikich's revenue has nearly tripled and the firm has expanded its geographic reach, with clients in all major U.S. markets and across the globe with nearly 2,000 employees. Sikich ranked No. 27 on Accounting Today's 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $363.77 million in annual revenue. The private equity infusion promises to fund a further spurt of mergers and acquisitions.
"This is an incredibly exciting time for our organization," Geier said in a statement Thursday. "We've been executing an ambitious growth and diversification strategy to capitalize on unique and favorable market conditions within an evolving professional services landscape, more than doubling in size over the last five years alone. Partnering with a leading global investor like Bain Capital is a testament to our strategy and provides us with additional meaningful resources and extensive knowledge to advance our mission and deliver on our value proposition to employees and clients."
A long line of accounting firms have been accepting private equity investment in recent years, with the PE firms in many cases taking a majority stake and prompting the firms to split their attest and nonattest sides into two entities in an alternative practice structure. The trend kicked off in August 2021 when
"We have watched Sikich thrive under Chris and his talented team's leadership as they continue to set the industry standard across their leading accounting, technology and advisory solutions," said Cristian Jitianu, a partner at Bain Capital Special Situations, in a statement. "As competition for talent and clients remains high, Sikich's differentiated business model has enabled the company to gain share in a fragmented market. We are excited to support Sikich's continued growth strategy, focused on acquisitions and strategic partnerships, with a tailored structure that maximizes value creation while allowing Sikich to retain majority control of the business."
The investment was made from funds managed by Bain Capital Special Situations and Bain Capital Credit. PJT Park Hill acted as financial advisor and Holland & Knight LLP and Vedder Price acted as legal advisor for Sikich. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP acted as legal advisors for Bain Capital.
"Bain Capital has already proven to be a collaborative and solutions-oriented partner, confirming what we know to be a great cultural fit between our two organizations," Geier stated. "We've held firm to our vision for Sikich over the last several years and, with their support, I am confident in this next chapter of our journey and what we can accomplish."
