Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has agreed to buy PwC‘s Global Mobility Tax and Immigration Services business. The Financial Times reported that CD&R offered to pay $2.2 billion for the unit, marking PwC’s biggest sale in nearly 20 years.
The business offers tax and immigration advice for companies with cross-border staff. The deal, which will create a stand-alone company with more than 5,700 employees, adds to a growing list of PE-backed carveouts from the Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY.
In March, KPMG agreed to sell its UK restructuring business to HIG Europe. Around the same time, Deloitte struck a deal to sell its restructuring arm to CVC Capital Partners-backed consultancy Teneo. Both transactions were part of an attempt to address perceived conflicts of interest around e firms potentially doing audit and consulting work for the same clients.
PwC’s mobility unit will be rebranded after the deal’s close, which is expected in the first half of 2022. “The business is well-positioned to capitalize on the future growth of global employee mobility, as companies and economies rebound from the pandemic,” said Russ Fradin, a partner with CD&R who will become board chairman of the new company.
News of the deal coincides with shareholders rubber-stamping CD&R’s acquisition of UK-listed supermarket Morrisons, an auction it won after a lengthy takeover battle with a consortium led by rival bidder Fortress Investment Group.
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