Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, a Top 10 Firm based in Chicago, plans to acquire Stax, a Boston-based strategy consulting firm that specializes in commercial due diligence, value creation, and exit-planning services for private equity firms, as well as their portfolio companies and advisors.
Stax offers both buy- and sell-side due diligence and planning for merger and acquisition activities, while helping clients with growth strategies and value-creation initiatives, leveraging artificial intelligence to deliver insights to clients.
Grant Thornton received a
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Grant Thornton Advisors has more than 13,500 professionals across its multinational firm. Its revenues in the U.S. were $2.4 billion in its last fiscal year. Grant Thornton ranked No. 8 on Accounting Today's 2025 list of the Top 100 Firms.
"With this bold move, we're taking our platform to new heights — combining Stax's top-tier talent with our own industry-leading professionals, while broadening our offerings and further elevating our tech capabilities," said Grant Thornton Advisors CEO Jim Peko in a statement Tuesday. "Stax has a decades-long legacy delivering transformative value to clients — similar to our own 100-year history. Together, we will generate bold results for a PE client base stretching from the Americas across Europe to the Middle East."
Stax has more than 300 professionals across its global footprint. Its revenues were not disclosed. Stax's team members will be joining Grant Thornton Advisors when the transaction closes, which is expected to take place later this year, subject to standard closing conditions.
Stax dates back about three decades, but has grown rapidly in recent years, now serving many of the leading players in large-cap and middle-market PE, alternative investments, and investment banking.
"We are proud to have built a 30-year reputation for excellent client service, unique tech-enabled solutions and impressive growth," said Stax CEO Jayson Traxler in a statement. "As part of Grant Thornton Advisors, those characteristics will endure — but with far greater scale, speed and amplification of our impact. We will be empowered to build on our unique strengths and insights, for the benefit of the leading PE firms, portfolio companies and investment banks."
The acquisition promises to bolster Grant Thornton Thornton Advisors' transaction advisory team with additional M&A capabilities. The practice currently has more than 600 PE relationships, including 60% of the top 10 global PE firms by total equity, and more than 1,600 sponsor-backed clients.
The deal with Stax is also expected to expand Grant Thornton Advisors' commercial-diligence offerings while adding Stax's transaction-consulting leadership team. Together, the two firms will service nearly 70% of the U.S.-based Private Equity International 300.
"PE firms today don't just want an adviser; they want a partner with agility, intelligence and scale," said Tom Puthiyamadam, managing partner for advisory services at Grant Thornton Advisors, in a statement. "By adding Stax, we're combining trust with data-driven precision to unlock strategic value at every stage of the investment lifecycle. This is more than an expansion — it's a leap forward in delivering outcomes for PE and corporate clients."
The transaction grows the multinational, multidisciplinary platform that Grant Thornton Advisors established in January after the PE investment from New Mountain Capital. It has added a number of firms as part of its growth strategy, including in
"Stax's world-class commercial diligence and value-creation capabilities are highly complementary to Grant Thornton Advisors' scaled transaction advisory offering," Andre Moura and Nikhil Devulapalli, managing directors at New Mountain Capital, said in a joint statement. "The addition of Stax enables Grant Thornton to better serve its clients as they contemplate and execute on major investment decisions and operating initiatives. We are proud to continue supporting Grant Thornton as the firm grows and broadens its capabilities."
