SMART Announces $60M Deal With Private Equity Firm

SMART Business Advisory and Consulting LLC announced that a Boston-based private equity firm has invested $60 million into its business.

Further details of the transaction with Great Hill Partners LLC were not disclosed.

James Smart, chief executive and founder of the accounting firm said that the new capital will help strengthen SMART's position in the changing accounting and consulting market -- which he described as having transformed in recent years from an industry dominated by a few very large accounting and consulting firms, to a much more competitive environment.

“This new market situation has created a significant growth opportunity for us over the past few years,” he said. “During that time, we have added an array of new services and people, many of them from those legacy firms, growing to over 650 people in 15 offices in the United States and Europe.”

Great Hill managing partner Christopher Gaffney said that growth was a key reason behind the equity firm’s decision to invest in SMART. Great Hill is a private equity firm that manages over $1.5 billion in capital and focuses on investing in growth companies operating in the business and consumer services, media, transaction processing and software industries.

Both SMART and Great Hill cited an analysis by Kennedy Information, a consulting industry analyst, which estimated annual growth of more than 10 percent for the services offered by SMART over the long term. 
 

SMART's offerings include business advisory services, accounting services, tax services and business and compensation consulting, among others. Through an alternative practice structure, SMART and Associates LLP also offers a full range of attest services.

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