On May 8, Willkie client Accordion, a private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm, announced its acquisition of Merilytics, a provider of advanced analytics, data management, and business intelligence reporting solutions to businesses around the world. Willkie served as co-counsel to Accordion on the transaction with AZB & Partners.

The strategic acquisition will be the foundation of Accordion’s Data & Analytics Practice to strengthen long-term support for its CFO clients.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Merilytics uses decision sciences and an analytics-based approach to generate superior data-driven returns for its PE-focused clients. Merilytics’ client base comprises marquee private equity firms and their portfolio companies, among others, and spans the U.S., South-East Asia, Australia, Middle East and Europe.

Working at the intersection of sponsors and management teams, Accordion partners with clients at every stage of the investment lifecycle. It is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco and South Florida.

Willkie previously advised Accordion and FFL Partners on a majority growth investment in Accordion in 2022 by Charlesbank Capital Partners and Motive Partners, and on FFL Partners’ sale of its minority stake in Accordion. The firm also advised Accordion in its strategic acquisitions of Mackinac Partners, a financial restructuring and operational turnaround firm, and technology consultancies ABACI and Platform Specialists, which respectively focus on enterprise resourcing planning and enterprise performance management.

The Willkie team was led by partners Neil Townsend and Thomas Sharkey and included associates David Araoz and Shuman Zhou.