Prosperity flips private equity partners
Top 100 Firm Prosperity Partners is getting a majority investment from private equity firm Lightyear Capital, while Prosperity’s most recent investor, Unity Partners, will maintain a minority position in the company.
Administrative Matters
The deal, which represents the company’s first “turnaround” is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.
“Perhaps most importantly, Lightyear’s experience in the manufacturing and technology-enabled businesses is a great fit for us and makes it clear that Lightyear will be a great partner,” said Prosperity CEO and founder Jeremy Dubow. Accounting Today.
Dubow said that the funds will be used to invest in two main areas: technology, such as artificial intelligence, which the company is currently using in tax audits and climate accounting, and continued mergers and acquisitions with a focus on regional development in Florida, Texas and California and expansion of existing markets such as Chicago, New York City and Washington, DC.
Lightyear will continue with the $18 million employee ownership program, which was launched at the same time as Unity’s initial investment in the company in April 2023.
“It is important that we have a balance between our partners and our employees. The Employee Engagement System ensures that every person in this organization participates when we are successful,” said Dubow. “Going forward, Lightyear – which is heavily involved in the accounting industry and other technology services – has the same vision and vision for our employees as we have with Unity Partners.”
Prosperity Partners is based in Chicago and ranks 94 on Accounting Today‘s
The company has made several acquisitions over the years. In 2025, he added
“This marks Lightyear’s seventh investment in a technology-enabled business venture,” Lightyear partner Mark Vassallo said in a statement. “Our strategy is to partner with strong management teams of emerging companies and help them continue to grow their business, increase their physical and physical growth, and create sustainable business value. We are excited about our strong growth given our strong growth potential in a valuable space, and Prosperity’s sterling reputation.”
Lightyear Capital is based in New York City with $8.1 billion in assets under management. It partners with companies in financial services, technology, healthcare and business services.
Allan Koltin, the founder of Koltin Consulting Group, which advised Prosperity on the transaction, commented, “Prosperity, one of the first accounting firms to partner with private equity, in just over three years has grown from a small, sophisticated tax business in a national platform offering a full suite of services to a broad client. The partnership with Lightyear will be the best tax position and provide a basis for Lightyear. The business advisory in in the country From their first meeting, it was clear that Prosperity and Lightyear were aligned on their strategy and would be partners.
Solidarity, past and present
Five years ago, when freelancers first entered the accounting profession, Prosperity joined Koltin to develop a strategy. Koltin said they explored the possibility of a full merger, but the only option was to become the Chicago office of a national company.
“Jeremy and his colleagues felt ‘the best is yet to come’ and wanted to drive the ship,” said Koltin. “Unfortunately, at that time, the only PE firms talking to the accounting profession were the largest in the country and they only wanted to talk to the top 25 CPA firms. And then a miracle happened.”
Unity Partners is a new, commercial PE firm, Koltin said. But they’re not looking for a “heavyweight company” — that is, a company with $300 million or more in revenue — but rather a “welterweight,” a company with about $10 million in revenue.
“The truth is the best fit,” Koltin said, and the two companies signed a deal a few months later.
“Unity has had tremendous success over the past three years in our business,” Dubow said. “They believe in us as a business, and they feel that maintaining minority status will be a great investment for them in the future.”
Dubow added, “For us at Prosperity, they have been a force to be reckoned with in the financial industry after spending more than three years in it, and we value their experience and strategy and look forward to continuing to work with them.”
Peter Cozzi, head of the investment team at Unity Partners, said in a statement, “We thank Jeremy and the team for everything we have accomplished together over the past three years, from the completion of strategic consolidation projects, expansion of service lines, and making major investments in technology and offshore, to rebranding as Development Partners to better capture the company’s mission and mission. The Employee Goals Program, and we look forward to continued growth and success.”
Guggenheim Securities acted as financial advisor to the merger and acquisitions, while Koltin Consulting Group served as additional financial advisor to both parties. Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel for Prosperity, and Davis Polk as Lightyear’s attorney.
