US Grant Thornton is pondering a deal that would see it acquire its affiliates in the UK and in Ireland, to create a three-way merger of the accountancy giant.
Like other giants in this field, Grant Thornton operates as legally separate entities in each country, the only thing each of the countries firms share is its name.
The Financial Times reported that the US firm is eyeing up an international expansion but acquiring its networks in the UK and in Ireland.
Earlier this month it was reported that UK Grant Thornton was considering selling a stake in its business to private equity. This came after US Grant Thornton flogged off a majority stake in March to the New York-based investment firm, New Mountain Capital.
It was reported by the FT that the UK business has already hired Rothschild to explore options for its business as interest from private equity firms has up-ticked. While the Irish Grant Thornton was also in a similar mindset and had hired Deutsche Bank.
The US business revenues was $2.4bn (£1.8bn) as of its financial reports that ended July 2023, while the revenues was £654m and the Irish businesses revenue was €300m (£253m).
If the plan goes ahead, the FT has reported that the current partners of the UK and Irish firms would become shareholders in an international holding company, which would be led by US businesses private equity owners and partners.
However, the firms could decide to pursue different deals or none, but UK Grant Thornton is not commenting on this news.