In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s there was a lot of activity in the accounting services sector as the rules relating to ownership of firms were being relaxed to allow non-accountants to own equity in firms. The accounting services sector was then (and now!) highly fragmented which presented an opportunity for consolidation, owners of firms were ageing and many were thinking about retirement at a time when the next generation of prospective owners were not showing much interest in partnership, and the competitive landscape was becoming more intense dues in large part to a somewhat disruptive impact of technology and other things.
Continue reading “Some thoughts on Consolidation and Private Equity Investment”