MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

CBIZ Told Grant Thornton No, No, No, Before Saying Yes

But CBIZ Was Already Looking for a Way Out When Grant Thornton Called

A galaxy of firms involved in the CBIZ-GT deal.

The board rejected $47, $52 and $54.30 a share — and asked for $56 — before a June 8 “best and final” $55.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Special Report

CBIZ was looking for a way out of its predicament months before Grant Thornton called, and longer still before an activist investor wrote to tell the board what to do. In the end, CBIZ took $55 per share from Grant Thornton, but only after rejecting three lower offers from the firm.

MORE Special Report on the CBIZ-Grant Thornton Deal: 

  1. Fatal Attraction: How the Marcum Deal Set Up CBIZ for the Grant Thornton Takeover
  2. CBIZ Tells Grant Thornton No, No, No, Before Saying Yes
  3. Grant Thornton Flexes PE Muscle in CBIZ Deal
  4. CBIZ: Spanning 2 Rollup Eras in 2 Centuries
  5. $55 a Share: Who Won, Who Lost in CBIZ’s 29-Year Rollup
  6. CPA PE Deal Tracker™: The Consolidator Gets Consolidated

COMING NEXT: Was CBIZ CEO Jerry Grisko Worth It? MORE Private Equity

In March, with the stock at $27 and falling toward $25 — roughly 70% below its February 2025 peak — CBIZ’s board went to Goldman Sachs for a preliminary view of what the company was worth and what its strategic alternatives were, “if any.”