PwC $1 fire sale to Allegro done, new name revealed
Private equity investor Allegro Funds has bought PwC’s government consulting arm for $1 and will invest $100 million in the newly renamed Scyne Advisory. The move is part of a risky and ambitious plan to reshape the industry by creating a huge advisory outfit that consults only to public sector clients.
Allegro co-founder Adrian Loader: “Scyne Advisory will have an industry-leading governance model.” James Brickwood
Scyne, an Old English word with various meanings including beautiful, fair and bright, officially began operating at the start of the month on Saturday with 132 former PwC partners and about 1750 staff from the embattled big four consulting firm.
The fire sale was triggered by PwC being cut off from winning new Commonwealth work in May after the extent of its tax leaks scandal became public. That led to the collapse of a business once worth $250 million in billings a year.
Scyne will provide government, health, infrastructure, defence and risk advisory consulting services to federal and state governments and public sector bodies. It will be completely independent of PwC with its own staff, systems and offices.
Separate emails announcing the deal were sent to Scyne and PwC at about 7.30am on Tuesday.
“It’s clear there is a need for a strong and independent government advisory firm of scale in the Australian market,” Allegro co-founder Adrian Loader said in a statement. “Scyne Advisory will have an industry-leading governance model able to meet the requirements of the Australian government and its agencies.”
The agreement will provide clarity for the affected staff and government clients, PwC’s acting chief executive, Kristin Stubbins, wrote in an email to the firm.
“We’re confident that Allegro, the PwC
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