CBIZ Sets October 27 Vote on $55/Share Grant Thornton Buyout After HSR Clearance
CBZ has more than doubled off its 52-week low of $24.29.
Summary
CBIZ's definitive proxy sets an October 27 stockholder vote on the $55 per share all-cash acquisition by Grant Thornton Advisors. HSR clearance is complete, no competing bids emerged during the go-shop, and $5.2 billion in committed financing is in place.
Key Events · M&A and Partnerships · CBZ
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Stockholder Vote Set for October 27
Special meeting scheduled for October 27, 2026 with record date September 16, 2026. Approval requires majority of 54,940,482 outstanding shares; directors and officers holding 4.07% intend to vote in favor.
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HSR Clearance Obtained
HSR waiting period expired September 10, 2026, removing the last major regulatory condition. No other governmental approvals are required.
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Go-Shop Yielded No Competing Bids
Goldman Sachs contacted 24 parties (18 financial sponsors, 6 strategics) during the 30-day go-shop. Six signed confidentiality agreements, but no superior proposal emerged.
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$5.2B Financing Fully Committed
Total funding of $5,235,000,000 includes $835M equity from New Mountain Partners VII funds and $3.2B in debt commitments from JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, BMO, Bank of America, RBC, and UBS. No financing condition to closing.
Analysis · CBZ · Trade & Services
The definitive proxy advances the $5 billion all-cash acquisition toward completion. HSR clearance on September 10 removed the last major regulatory hurdle, and the go-shop period ended with no competing bids — 24 parties were contacted but none submitted a superior proposal. Stockholders vote October 27; approval requires a majority of the 54.9 million outstanding shares. The $55.00 price represents a 29% premium to the July 24 closing price of $42.63, though it sits 29% below the 52-week high of $77.81. Financing is fully committed: $835 million in equity from New Mountain funds plus $3.2 billion in debt commitments from JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, BMO, Bank of America, RBC, and UBS. Termination fees are substantial — $107.5 million if CBIZ walks to a superior bid, $198.4 million if Grant Thornton fails to close. Goldman Sachs delivered a fairness opinion and will earn approximately $53 million, nearly all contingent on closing.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 16, 2026, 36.6% of the 978 measured filings Wiseek scored 8 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.52%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, CBZ was trading at $54.60 on NYSE in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3B. The 52-week trading range was $24.29 to $57.48. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.