Consolidation is a natural step in the evolution of all industries.
Larger players identify opportunities to fortify their strengths or fill gaps in their offerings, and, at the same time, smaller companies recognize they simply don’t have – and can’t acquire – the resources needed to meet future market demand.
The Background Investigations industry is no exception.
As the demand for background checks continues to rise and the complexity of these screenings increases, there has been a corresponding amount of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the industry.
Each of the past five years has seen at least one acquisition in excess of $700 million, including five that have exceeded $1 billion. These include:
2018 - First Advantage was acquired by Symphony Technology Group for $1.3 billion
2019 - HireRight was acquired by Altegrity for $1.05 billion
2020 - Sterling Infosystems was acquired by Calera Capital for $700 million
2021 - Checkr was acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $5.1 billion
2022 - GoodHire was acquired by Hellman & Friedman for $7.1 billion
2024 - Sterling Check was acquired by First Advantage for $2.2 billion
What’s Driving Industry Consolidation?
