A Swedish buyout firm has joined a queue of buyout firms exploring the purchase of a big stake in the UK operations of Grant Thornton, one of Britain’s biggest accountancy firms.
Sky News has learnt that EQT, which is in the process of acquiring the computer games producer Keywords Studios, submitted an offer to Grant Thornton’s advisers ahead of a deadline earlier this week.
Stockholm-based EQT joins a list of bidders which includes Carlyle, Cinven, CVC Capital Partners and Permira.
Nordic Capital is also said to have considered an offer.
A deal could value Grant Thornton’s UK arm at between £1bn and £2bn, according to industry sources.
CVC’s involvement in the auction is of particular interest because the firm also owns Teneo, a professional services firm spanning public relations, political advice and financial restructuring, including company administrations and liquidations.
The latter part of the business was acquired from Deloitte, the professional services giant, in 2021 and was partly borne out by the growing issue of conflicts within large accountants between their audit and consulting arms.
CVC has owned Teneo since 2019 and is expected to pursue an exit from the business in the next couple of years.
Audit scandals at companies such as Bhs and Carillion fuelled public and political pressure for the separation of accountants’ audit and consulting operations.
Grant Thornton has been no stranger to run-ins with the existing watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
In 2022, it was fined £1.3m for “serious failings” in its audit of Sports Direct, the sportswear empire founded by Mike…
