Grant Thornton adds GT firm in Puerto Rico

Grant Thornton Advisors has expanded its rapidly growing multinational platform by merging in another firm in the network, Kevane Grant Thornton in Puerto Rico.

The move will mark the 17th firm added to the platform since the Chicago-based Top 10 Firm received a private equity investment from New Mountain Capital last year, and split the firm into Grant Thornton Advisors on the non-attest side and Grant Thornton LLP on the attest side when it completed a merger deal with GT Ireland in January. 

Earlier this month, GT announced it would be adding firms from its network in Brazil, Poland and New Zealand to the platform. The platform includes GT firms in the U.S., Ireland, France, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, the Channel Islands, the Cayman Islands, Spain, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium and Luxembourg. Earlier this year, Grant Thornton also announced it was adding Auxis, a Florida-based firm that provides outsourcing services in Costa Rica and Colombia, and Stax, a Boston-based strategic consulting firm. 

Another private equity firm, Cinven, acquired a 60% stake in Grant Thornton U.K. in April, and in September acquired a stake in Grant Thornton Germany. Both New Mountain Capital and Cinven, are reportedly looking at either buying a stake in Grant Thornton India or merging them into their platforms.

Financial terms of the deal with Kevane Grant Thornton Puerto Rico were not disclosed. Kevane Grant Thornton dates back 50 years and has more than 200 professionals and annual revenues of nearly $30 million. Once the deal closes, the platform will include 17 firms and over 20,000 professionals, about half of them in the U.S. The platform-wide revenues will be approaching $4 billion.

"Puerto Rico is at the nexus of the US, Caribbean and Latin American markets, making Kevane Grant Thornton an ideal accelerator for our multinational growth," said Jim Peko, CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and CEO of the Americas, in a statement Tuesday. "By adding the firm to our platform, we're deepening our ability to support clients with worldwide talent, regional insights and sophisticated high-quality services. This deal represents yet another powerful growth moment for our platform and for Grant Thornton in Puerto Rico."

The deal is expected to close later this year. The platform will stay part of the Grant Thornton International Limited network, which includes member firms in more than 150 markets worldwide.

"We are extremely proud to join the Grant Thornton Advisors platform, especially as we celebrate our 50th anniversary," said Carlos Dolagaray, managing partner at Kevane Grant Thornton, in a statement. "This milestone reflects the exceptional talent and dedication of our team and is a testament to our commitment to evolve and grow while contributing meaningful value to the platform. It is a great opportunity for our clients, prospective clients and employees to benefit from the additional bandwidth and resources. We are very excited about the future and the impact we will have in the Puerto Rico business community as well as worldwide."