US accounting firm Eide Bailly has agreed to sell a majority stake to private equity firm Reverence Capital Partners in a deal valuing the business at around $1.8bn, as investor interest in the accounting and professional services sector continues to grow, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Under the transaction, Reverence and co-investors will take control of the Minneapolis-based firm, which provides audit, tax and consulting services to mid-market clients. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary approvals.
Eide Bailly said the partnership is intended to accelerate investment in technology, including artificial intelligence, and support expansion across its advisory and consulting operations. The firm, which reported revenues of about $840m in its latest financial year, has signalled ambitions to roughly double revenue over the next three to four years.
The investment reflects a broader wave of private equity activity in the accounting sector, where firms outside the Big Four have increasingly sold minority or majority stakes to fund growth, consolidation and technology upgrades. The trend has accelerated in recent years as firms look to scale and compete in a more technology-driven services environment.
To comply with regulatory independence requirements, Eide Bailly will adopt an alternative practice structure separating its audit business—kept within a licensed CPA entity—from its non-audit operations, which will house the private equity investment.
The deal follows a series of similar transactions across the industry, underscoring continued consolidation and the growing appeal of mid-market professional services platforms to private capital investors.
