PwC sells Global Mobility Tax service business for $2.2bn

According to reports from the Financial Times, CD&R offered to pay $2.2 billion for the unit, marking PwC’s biggest sale in nearly 20 years.

The service is the global leader in employee tax, immigration, business travel, mobility managed services, and payroll solutions to multinational organisations and their employees.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice is a private investment firm that manages the investment of more than $35 billion in more than 100 companies with an aggregate transaction value of more than $150 billion.

The Global Mobility Tax and Immigration Services business serves more than 3,000 multinational clients worldwide and helps organisations manage global talent mobility, while providing personalised, high-quality tax and immigration services to cross-border employees, as they navigate compliance issues associated with global employment.

The sale of the service will create a freestanding, global platform with more than 5,700 professionals focused on a seamless cross-border experience for clients, while accelerating investment in technology and new services.

“We are excited for the opportunity to become a free-standing organisation and partner with CD&R to build on our market leadership and drive more value for clients,” said Peter Clarke, global managing partner for global employee mobility at PwC, who will be chief executive of the new company.

“The pandemic proved that global employment issues remain a key challenge for companies, especially as compliance requirements become more complex. Our partnership with CD&R will allow us to accelerate our technology investments to offer what our clients are asking for: an integrated digital experience across the entirety of the talent mobility ecosystem. These technology investments along with our new global operating model will support an even more differentiated service experience for our clients with the same laser focus on the quality and confidentiality of the services we provide to our cross-border employee clients, while providing expanded and rewarding career opportunities for our team.”

“The Global Mobility Tax and Immigration Services business has significant global capabilities to support emerging trends and complexities in talent mobility. The business is well positioned to capitalize on the future growth of global employee mobility, as companies and economies rebound from the pandemic,” said Russ Fradin, CD&R partner and former CEO and chairman at Aon Hewitt, who will become board chairman of the new independent company upon close.

“The return of business travel, emerging mobile work patterns, and the heightened need for compliance in a complex business and regulatory environment will drive significant need for a globally integrated provider with a sophisticated digital platform.”

The business will be rebranded following the completion of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions including completion of certain local works council consultations.