Ready for some big news in the consulting industry?
On November 6, 2023 it was announced that the McLean, Virginia based consulting firm, Guidehouse, will be acquired by Bain Capital in a massive $5.3 billion deal.
Let’s take a look at what this means for this leading public sector consulting firm and for the industry at large.
What Does this Mean for Guidehouse?
For some background, Guidehouse has been under the domain of Veritas Capital since 2018, so this is a big change for the firm. In 2023, Guidehouse received over $900 million in federal contracts, including Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Interior.
The investment from Bain Capital will be instrumental in Guidehouse’s growth journey – we expect to see an uptick in hiring shortly.
Post-acquisition, Guidehouse will continue to remain under the leadership of its current CEO Scott McIntyre. Together with Bain Capital, Guidehouse will leverage this new partnership to scale its consulting services and expand its client offerings.
It’s interesting to note that this deal is already the second move that Guidehouse has made over the past 14 months, following its August 2022 acquisition of Grant Thornton’s public sector arm.
Does This Acquisition Give Signals To The Broader Consulting Landscape?
The consulting industry has seen some difficult days in recent times due to the rocky economy, but this acquisition is a beacon of hope for a turnaround. Throughout the US, there has been an uptick in mergers and acquisitions activity, signaling that an economic recovery could be on the horizon.
While Bain Capital has been upping its game in the M&A world, overall acquisitions of consultancies by private equity firms has decreased from the years prior. In 2023, there have been a total of 31 consulting M&A deals ($100M) in comparison to 37 deals ($1B) the year prior.
Conclusion
Check out careers at Guidehouse – the firm is actively hiring for a number of roles and this acquisition will only bolster hiring efforts.
The Bain / Guidehouse acquisition is big news for the consulting industry. Keep your eyes peeled to Management Consulted to stay abreast of key consulting trends and breaking news.
Additional Resources:
- Top Consulting Firms of 2023
- Breaking Down Case Interview Frameworks; M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions)
- Consulting Resume: Complete Guide