Lightyear Capital takes majority stake in Prosperity
CHICAGO, UNITED STATES — Lightyear Capital has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Prosperity Partners, a Chicago-based tax advisory and client accounting services firm that marks Lightyear’s seventh investment in tech-enabled business services.
According to a press release, Unity Partners retaining a minority position as Prosperity scales from $10 million to more than $80 million in revenue across nine strategic acquisitions since April 2023.
Lightyear targets the high-net-worth advisory market
Prosperity offers tax advisory, client accounting, and transaction support services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and closely held businesses across nine United States offices — giving Lightyear a platform in a specialized accounting segment where high recurring revenue and complex advisory needs have attracted sustained private equity interest.
“Prosperity marks Lightyear’s seventh investment in tech-enabled business services. Our strategy is to partner with strong management teams of growing companies and help them continue to institutionalize their businesses, accelerate their growth organically and inorganically and create enduring enterprise value,” said Mark Vassallo, Managing Partner at Lightyear Capital.
Employee ownership plan to distribute $18 million
Lightyear and Prosperity have agreed to continue an employee ownership program for qualifying employees — with Prosperity’s Employee Purpose Plan distributing approximately $18 million across the firm’s workforce as part of the deal, a commitment reflecting a shared focus on talent retention as Prosperity scales amid a tight labor market for qualified accounting professionals.
Lightyear’s growth plan for Prosperity centers on investments in talent, automation, technology solutions, and strategic acquisitions — a four-pillar model targeting service capacity expansion without proportional headcount growth, across a firm that has already demonstrated the tech-enabled accounting services model at eight-times revenue growth.
“With significant employee growth and enhancements to key processes, systems and services, I am proud of everything we have achieved alongside Unity Partners and am ecstatic for our employees to reap the rewards of our Employee Purpose Plan,” said Jeremy Dubow, CEO and Co-Founder of Prosperity Partners.
The accounting and business services sector has seen accelerating private equity activity — driven by AICPA-member firms seeking platforms capable of serving high-net-worth clients at scale — with offshore delivery models emerging as a key capacity lever for accounting services firms targeting growth beyond organic hiring.
Prosperity’s investment in technology and offshore delivery — a growth lever flagged by Unity’s investment team — positions it to expand service capacity without proportional headcount growth, with BPO providers serving the accounting and financial services sectors tracking the deal as evidence of sustained demand for offshore-enabled, tech-integrated advisory platforms.
For business process outsourcing providers serving the accounting and financial services sectors, the Lightyear–Prosperity deal underscores growing demand for offshore-enabled advisory platforms that can scale service capacity without proportional headcount growth.
