Grant Thornton’s German arm assessing bids from US and UK member firms

The German business of Grant Thornton is on the verge of being acquired by either the company’s US or UK entity, with the competitive bid process to reach its close in the summer.

In January, Grant Thornton’s German business announced that it was exploring a sale of itself in the wake of a frenzied private equity action within the network. Late 2024, Grant Thornton’s UK business joined forces with private equity firm Cinven, not long after the US business welcomed New Mountain Capital as an investor.

Now, these two groups – the two largest member organisations within the Grant Thornton network – are in a battle for the German arm. According to reporting from the Financial Times, citing sources, the German leadership team has received offers from both and is in the process of evaluating them.

The US group seems to have the best papers. At the start of this year, the US business teamed up with the Irish member firm to launch Grant Thornton Advisors, a new platform that plans to add Grant Thornton firms around the world in order to establish an integrated and cross-border group. Over the past months, deals were secured with the member firms in the UAE, the Channel Islands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Netherlands.

Grant Thornton Advisors now has around 13,000 people working from roughly 60 offices .The British Cinven-backed business meanwhile has a team of around 5,500 staff.

The contest for the German firm is indicative of what can be expected across the Grant Thornton network over the coming months. The network’s member firm in Spain has also shown openness to acquisition, while the Indian arm Grant Thornton Bharat confirming that it is open to exploring opportunities.

Putting their M&A ambitions aside, leaders of both the US and UK members firms told the Financial Times that they ultimately strive for the same goal: “As the two largest member firms within the Grant Thornton International network, the UK and US firms remain closely aligned and committed to the wider growth of the network.”