h/t CPA_Dad for tweeting this in our direction
Just a few months after #28 IPA Top 100 firm Sikich announced a $250 million capital injection from Bain Capital, the firm has grabbed the basically unknown Saggar & Rosenberg of Rockville, Maryland. Well, Sikich Co-Managing Principal Antony Nettleton knows who they are.
“Over the last 25 years Sandy Saggar has built an impressive company that dovetails nicely with our own offerings and specialized services to non-profits and the government sector, where we have a strong presence,” he said. “We look forward to leveraging the expertise of his team, who are delivering comprehensive, enterprise-wide financial solutions to clients across the country. We will serve our collective clients together, with the integrity and quality our companies are known for, while taking advantage of emerging opportunities in the market.”
The federal government also knows the name Saggar & Rosenberg. According to USASpending.gov, an official website of the US government, S&G has won at least 33 government contracts totaling 1.2 million bucks. This deal gives Chicago-based Sikich an even stronger foothold in Washington, a “hyper-focused” growth plan zeroed in on federal government work that’s been underway since they acquired Halt, Buzas & Powell in 2019. Three years after that they bought Cotton & Company and last year they snapped up CliftonLarsonAllen’s entire federal government practice.
Saggar & Rosenberg founder Sandy Saggar made sure to mention the other clients in his press release quote, not just the federal ones. “Over the years, Saggar & Rosenberg has experienced significant growth serving a wide range of sophisticated clients who are demanding an increasing set of diverse services. We want to support those clients with a broader set of offerings as they navigate change and do so in a way that ensures the excellent service they’ve come to expect from us,” he said. “This expectation is what attracted us to Sikich, with their track record, strategy for growth and people-first mindset. Given the latter, I believe we have found a like-minded organization that will allow our employees to expand their skills and explore opportunities for growth.”
In the press release, Sikich made sure to mention that unlike those other PE-backed firms, they’ve retained majority control.
In May, Sikich secured a minority growth investment of $250 million from Bain Capital to help fund its robust acquisition strategy, enhance operational excellence and cement its professional services leadership position. The transaction, in a departure from traditional private equity deals in professional services, leaves Sikich with majority control of the company and is testament to its track record and growth strategy.
Three years since the first major private equity deal in accounting and we’re already talking about tradition? OK. They’re not wrong though, just look at recent deals by Baker Tilly and Grant Thornton. We’re told Doeren Mayhew’s private equity deal announced just last week is also a majority stake but that remains unconfirmed.
Quoting what we said when Bain Capital announced their investment in Sikich in May:
Time for Sikich to snag themselves a big fish instead of these firms no one’s heard of. We’re watching with great interest, so much so we’re adding a “Sikich” tag for the first time in the 15 years since this website was founded. Don’t let us down.
We’ll be waiting.
