Regional M&A: Sikich buys Burwood

Sikich said on April 7 that it acquired Burwood Group, adding a Chicago-area information technology consulting firm to its professional-services business. (sikich.com) The buyer is Sikich, a Naperville-based firm that says it offers consulting, technology and compliance services and has about 2,000 team members across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Burwood is an Oak Brook-based information technology consulting and integration firm with nearly 30 years of history serving enterprise clients. (sikich.com) Sikich did not disclose a price. In its announcement, the firm said Burwood adds depth in cloud infrastructure, application modernization, user productivity, networking and cybersecurity for clients in healthcare, higher education, industrials and financial services. (sikich.com) Burwood’s website now says it is “now part of Sikich,” and Burwood says it maintains three U.S. offices with headquarters just outside Chicago. Consulting industry coverage said Burwood has more than 200 employees listed on LinkedIn. (burwood.com 1) (burwood.com 2) (consulting.us) The deal extends a consolidation push that Sikich has described in plain terms on its own corporate-development page: scale helps firms win more work, recruit talent and respond to private-equity-driven consolidation in the Certified Public Accountant market. That matters because Sikich started as an accounting firm and now sells a broader mix of technology and advisory services. (sikich.com 1) (sikich.com 2) Trade outlets that track accounting-firm mergers placed the acquisition in that wider market. Inside Public Accounting said Sikich reported fiscal 2024 net revenue of $438.9 million and ranked in its IPA 100 list when it covered the Burwood deal on April 7. (insidepublicaccounting.com) The strategic fit is geographic as well as operational. Sikich’s main headquarters is in Naperville, its Chicago office serves Chicagoland technology and accounting clients, and Burwood has long sold enterprise information technology services from suburban Chicago. (sikich.com 1) (sikich.com 2) (burwood.com) Sikich Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Geier said Burwood brings “technical breadth and depth” and a record of long-term client relationships. Burwood Chief Executive Officer Mike Hensley said the combination gives clients access to a broader platform while keeping Burwood’s focus on practical technology outcomes. (sikich.com) For clients, the immediate change is simple: Burwood’s engineers and consultants now sit inside a larger Illinois-based firm that has been buying capabilities, not just customers. The acquisition gives Sikich another piece of the information technology stack as regional professional-services firms get bigger and more specialized. (sikich.com) (sikich.com)