William Fry acted as lead Irish counsel to Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (Grant Thorton Advisors) and New Mountain Capital on their agreement to combine Grant Thornton Advisors with Grant Thornton Ireland’s advisory and tax businesses.
The deal received backing from an investor group led by New Mountain Capital, a leading growth-oriented investment firm with approximately $55 billion in assets under management.
Grant Thornton Advisors is a US-based tax and advisory services provider operating in an alternative practice structure alongside Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed certified public accounting firm that provides audit and assurance services. Together, the two providers go to market as the Grant Thornton brand in the US — most recently achieving annual revenues of $2.4 billion and operating dozens of US offices that employ almost 10,000 professionals.
Grant Thornton Ireland is a leading audit, tax and advisory services provider in Ireland, most recently achieving record annual revenue of approximately $333 million. The firm’s 2,800 people have expertise in key industries, most notably financial services.
The combination is a landmark transaction in Irish professional services, as the first true integration of an Irish and US professional services firm, and a significant milestone enhancing Grant Thornton Ireland’s presence as an international service provider. Grant Thornton Ireland’s audit practice will remain independent and operate under an alternative practice structure.
The transaction is subject to customary approvals and is expected to close in Q1 2025.
The William Fry Team was led by Corporate M&A and Private Equity Partners Ivor Banim, Mark Talbot and Mark Quealy supported by John O’Connor, Ian Murray, Fiachra Cork, Aisling O’Gorman, Colm Manning, Niall Campbell, Susan Walsh, William Foley, Jack Spain, Lucy Thornton, Oisin Callaghan, Sarah White and Kitty Ryan.
This core team was supported by a multi-disciplinary team across the firm, including Martha Ni’ Dhochartaigh, Roisin Casey and Conor Beirth (Insurance and Financial Regulation); Louise Harrison, Nuala Clayton, Ian Devlin, Jane Barrett, Richard Smith, Eimear O’Leary, Ciara Kelleher, Rachel Burke, Laoise Kelleher and Liza Dundon (Employment and Benefits); Paul Convery, Joanne Ryan, Niamh McCabe Kate Abell, and Frank Hanly (Litigation and Disputes); Rachel Hayes, Claire O’Connor, Conor Forde, Louisa Muldowney and Ronan Shaughnessy (Contracts, Technology and IP); Ciarán Herlihy, Ann Faherty and Aoibhín Kelly (Banking and Finance); Mark Kershaw, Georgia Collins, Sarah O’Mahony and Aoife Keenan (Real Estate); Cormac Little SC, Sheila Tormey, Olivia Heron and Nessa Boland (Competition and FDI); and Colin Bolger (Tax).
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and William Fry are acting as legal counsel on the cross-border transaction with Arthur Cox LLP (ROI and NI), Tughans (Northern Ireland), Harneys (Bermuda), Appleby (Ise of Man), Hassans (Gibraltar), Loyens & Loeff (Luxembourg), Garrigues (Spain) and Antis Triantafyllides & Sons (Cyprus).