PwC offloads mobility tax consultancy arm to PE group CD&R for $2.2bn
CD&R has a takeover agreement with PwC worth € 2.2 billion.
The unit currently advises more than 3,000 organizations around the world on tax and immigration compliance issues when they relocate employees abroad – a market that has more or less stalled during the pandemic.
The company operates in approximately 40 territories worldwide, with a primary presence in the US and UK and significant offices in Australia, Canada and the Middle East.
However, CD&R believes that the company, which operates in approximately 40 countries around the world, is well positioned to help companies tackle the “more complex” compliance issues that have arisen from the travel comeback.
While the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the buyout group said it expects to close in the first half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.
Upon completion of the transaction, the business will be renamed and led by the new CEO Peter Clarke, who is currently Global Managing Partner for global employee mobility at PwC. The company’s new chairman will be Russ Fradin, partner at CD&R and former CEO and chairman of Aon Hewitt.
The return of business travel, emerging mobile work patterns and the increased need for compliance in a complex business and regulatory environment will significantly increase the need for a globally integrated provider with a sophisticated digital platform, ”said Fradin.
It marks the largest sale by PwC since the company sold its advisory business to IBM for $ 3.5 billion in 2002 after the Enron scandal, before rebuilding its advisory services.
It comes after Big Four giant Deloitte agreed in February to sell its UK bankruptcy business to CVC Capital Partners-backed PR and consulting firm Teneo.
A month later, KPMG sold its restructuring practice to Interpath Advisory for around £ 400 million to a newly formed company backed by private equity firm HIG Europe.
It’s been a busy month for CD&R, defeating the Fortress Investment consortium a fortnight ago in an auction for Morrisons in a £ 10 billion deal for the supermarket.
